AROUND 
WORLD 

4IEXANDER 

PWTNC:  ;  (      rOSPEL  SINGERS 


.1  ""'K 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 

f 


https://archive.org/details/twicearoundworldOOdavi_0 


aimtr?  Arnuttb  t^t  Wttrlh 


MR.  CHARLES  M.  ALEXANDER 


Around  the  World 

with 

Alexander 

PRINCE  OF  GOSPEL  SINGERS 


BY 

GEORGE  T.  B.  DAVIS 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CHRISTIAN  HERALD 

LOUIS  KLOPSCH,  PROPRIETOR 
BIBLE  HOUSE 


aia|igrigl|t,  IBBT,  tig  llama  ^lupBtii 


FOREWORD 


One  striking  feature  of  the  German  Reformation  was  the 
admission  of  the  Congregation  into  a  singing  share  of  the 
rehgious  service.  Luther  himself  became  a  writer  of  hymns ; 
and  many  of  his  gifted  countrymen  produced  Christian  lyrics 
to  meet  the  popular  demand.  So  marked  was  the  result  of 
this  innovation  that  from  a  hostile  source  came  the  sneer 
"  that  the  people  were  singing  themselves  into  the  Lutheran 
doctrine." 

The  following  pages  tell  the  story  how  thousands  of  men 
and  women  were  drawn  to  the  Christian  life  by  the  power  of 
sacred  song,  and  accepted  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  Redeemer, 
and  King.  Never  before  in  the  history  of  revivals  were  there 
such  evidences  of  the  power  of  Gospel  Songs  to  touch  the 
heart  and  conquer  the  will  in  the  interests  of  the  souFs 
salvation. 

A  most  fortunate  selection  was  Dr.  Reuben  A.  Torrey's 
choice  of  Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  to  accompany  him  in  his 
evangelistic  tours.  The  singer  proved  that  he  was  not  merely 
a  winning  voice  in  Israel,  but  a  master  leader  of  congregational 
singing.  Wherever  he  went  he  compelled  everybody  in  the 
audience  to  sing ;  he  led  the  vast  throngs  in  Christian  melody 
as  irresistibly  as  he  controlled  the  choir  on  the  platform.  An 
admirer  spoke  of  him  as  "  Alexander  the  Great  ;  and  in  the 
following  pages,  which  tell  the  story  of  the  recent  missions  of 


viii 


Foreword 


the  two  evangelists  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Great 
Britain  and  Australasia,  the  reader  will  find  ample  warrant  for 
that  designation. 

Before  the  occurrence  of  some  of  the  wonderful  song-scenes, 
so  graphically  described  in  "Twice  Around  the  World,'*  a 
large  portion  of  Christian  people  never  suspected  that  the  Gos- 
pel could  be  sung  just  as  effectively  as  it  could  be  preached. 
To  set  the  largest  cities  and  the  widest  communities  humming 
revival  tunes  and  singing  revival  songs — to  popularize  well- 
known  hymns,  so  that  for  a  season  they  take  the  place  of 
secular  melodies — is  indeed  a  notable  tribute  to  the  influence 
of  consecrated  musical  genius.  This  is  what  Mr.  Alexander 
did  in  many  places  and  in  many  climes. 

The  Torrey- Alexander  missions  likewise  proved  the  efficiency 
of  personal  solicitation  in  the  work  of  saving  souls.  Armed 
with  the  song  book,  as  well  as  the  Bible,  and  using  the  "per- 
sonal appeal  to  the  utmost,  the  evangelist  in  these  days  is 
indeed  a  triumphant  conqueror  of  men  as  well  as  a  winner  of 
souls. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I  PAGE 
Twice  Around  the  World. — Successors  of  Moody  and  Sankey — 
The  campaign  in  England — Mr.  Alexander's  second  jour- 
ney— What  was  accomplished  17 


CHAPTER  II 

From  Farm  to  Famous  Gospel  Singer. — A  religious  home  atmos- 
phere— His  mother's  influence — Hears  Sankey  sing  at  Knox- 
ville — Leaves  home  for  college — Resolves  to  devote  his  life 
to  sacred  song — Attends  Bible  Institute — His  first  Gospel  tour  24 


CHAPTER  III 

Beginning  a  World-wide  Work. — A  season  in  Melbourne — Fame 
comes  in  a  night — Mr.  Alexander's  method — All  Melbourne 
sings  the  ''Glory  Song" — The  Shoemaker  and  the  "Glory 
Song"     .  35 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Revival  in  Australia. — The  experience  of  Mr.  Harkness — 
The  key  to  a  musician*s  heart — An  enthusiastic  reception — 
A  marvelous  rescue — The  conversion  of  a  pugilist — The 
Christian  engineer — Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  reach 
India  46 

CHAPTER  V 

Opening  of  the  English  Campaign. — Lord  Kinnaird's  wel- 
come— Two  transformed  lives — Belfast^s  farewell — Chicago's 
welcome  61 


X 


Contents 


CHAPTER  VI  PAGE 

"Tell  Mother  Fll  be  There."— The  song  that  touched  all 
hearts— The  sting  of  memory — A  business  man  and  his 
mother's  Bible — A  Christian  crew — A  moment  too  late — Infi- 
dels converted  69 


CHAPTER  VII 

Pentecostal  Biessing  at  Birmingham. — Fervent  prayers 
answered — A  football  team  converted — Mr.  Alexander's  wed- 
ding— A  true  helpmate — Mrs.  Alexander  as  an  author    .    .  80 

CHAPTER  VIII 

A  Memorable  Midnight  Meeting. — "The  midnight  sweep"  of  the 
slums — Mr.  Jacoby's  life  story — Process  of  Conversion — 
Wanted  him  for  mayor — The  story  of  a  kiss— A  month  in 
Wales — The  revival  that  would  not  stop  93 

CHAPTER  IX 

Revival  Hymns  Capture  Liverpool. — A  novel  wedding  feast— 


A  change  of  songs — The  song  clutched  his  heart — A  girl's 
pathetic  letter — The  return  of  a  wanderer — A  Japanese  con- 
fesses Christ — Meetings  in  a  factory  108 

CHAPTER  X 

"Get  Right  With  God."— The  card  and  the  judge— The  mes- 
sage in  the  paper — Officer  held  his  card  in  sight — The  story 
of  a  bridal  couple — What  one  policeman  did  124 

CHAPTER  XI 

The  Romance  of  a  Text.— Second-Timothy-Two-Fifteen— A 
mighty  audience  adopts  the  text— The  text  had  gone  before 
them — The  text  at  the  court  of  Denmark  133 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  "Glory  Song""  Around  the  World. — The  song  in  Denmark — 
The  marchers  sing  the  "Glory  Song" — The  "Glory  Song"  in 
Great  Britain- — The  launching  of  the  Dreadnaught    .    .    .  140 


Contents 


xi 


CHAPTER  XIII  PAGE 

Wonderful  Scenes  at  Royal  Albert  Hall. — A  choir  of  four 
thousand — "Alexander  the  Great" — Col.  Beauchamp  en- 
lists— A  soldier's  story — How  Ashlyn  stirred  London — A 
singer  who  was  tired  of  life — Flowers  conquer  a  heart — The 
Darky  "Ninety  and  Nine"— "Tell  mother  FU  be  there"— A 
workingman's  story — The  dedication  of  a  piano    .    .    •    ,  147 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Men  and  Children  at  Albert  Hall. — Applause  for  the  leader — 
Cambridge  men  testified — Anxious  fathers  heard — Dr.  Tor- 
rey's  fetching  sermon — A  thrilling  scene — Still  they  lingered — 
Three  Jewish  girls  sing — A  glimpse  of  their  home    .    .    .  177 

CHAPTER  XV 

Storming  South  and  Central  London. — Cricket  Club's  transfor- 
mation— Where   "Glory  Song"   was   heard — Drawing-room 
meetings — The  novel  lost  its   attraction — The  birth  of  a 
hymn — A   grand   farewell — Sheaves   gathered   in  London — 
Gramophone  enlisted — Heard  in  lonely  Africa    .    .    .    .  i8g 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Closing  Missions  in  England. — Zeal  among  toilers — Street 
meeting  for  workingmen — Prayed  with  mother — Soldiers 
and  sailors  reached — Mariners  turn  pleaders — Among  dock- 
yard people — Worst  characters  reclaimed — Missions  in  uni- 
versity towns — A  notable  service — Liverpool's  good-bye    .  203 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Beginning  the  American  Campaign. — Workers  from  abroad — 
Power  of  personal  work — The  "Glory  Song"  in  India — Came 
to  borrow  fire — A  criminal's  testimony — "Just  try  me  on 
leather" — Wanted — sermons  on  wheels — Songs  with  hooks 
in  them — The  "Tell  Mother"  song — Children's  prayer  circle  220 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Great  Work  in  Philadelphia. — Remarkable  figures — 
People  home  heard  services — At  Princeton  University — 
Religion  and  business — Old  man  Wiseman — A  most  hasty 
exit — Everything  went  wrong — Preached  through  the  press  236 


xii 


Contents 


CHAPTER  XIX  PAGE 
A  New  Departure.— ^'Revival  Luncheons'— A  novelty  in  the 
work — A  fishing  excursion — Get  to  work  at  once — Minister 
changes  his  method — Inquiry  rooms  opened — Converts  tell 
their  story  254 

CHAPTER  XX 

The  Story  of  Mel.  Trotter. — Eleven  miles  for  drink-— Gold 
cure  useless — Almost  drunk  at  the  funeral — Was  tobacco 
fiend,  too — Memorized  Scripture — ^Just  *'let  God  move  in"    .  266 

CHAPTER  XXI 

The  Great  Victory  in  Atlanta. — Praise  meeting  on  sidewalk — 
Resumed  preaching — "Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes" — A  visit 
to  Sam  Jones  282 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Conversion  of  a  Pugilist. — A  "sunbeam  choir" — Special  trains 
were  run — An  Indian's  Christian  story — Pugilist  Allen  suc- 
cumbs— His  wretched  past — Campaign  statistics    ....  294 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Experiences  on  Shipboard. — Mrs.  Alexander's  illness — The  ocean 
voyage — Against  betting  on  the  ship's  speed — Gospel  songs 
in  the  saloon  303 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  New  Year  Text  Selected. — Shouted  Scripture  farewells — 

Accident  to  Mr.  Alexander — Missionaries  have  to  flee    .    .  314 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Among  the  Lepers  at  Pakhol — The  lepers'  daily  life — Printing 

Bibles   for   Chinese   •    .  320 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

A  Journey  to  Liem-Chau. — Chinese  eager  to  learn — Mingle 
healing  and  exhorting — Missionaries'  homes  looted — Refuge 
taken  on  shipboard — Very  disturbed  conditions    ....  327 


Contents  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXVII  page 
At  Hong-Kong  and  Manila. — A  cosmopolitan  audience — Meet- 
ing a  convert — Brief  stay  in  Philippines  341 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Amid  Familiar  Scenes  in  Australia. — Renewing  acquaintance — 
Audience  of  ten  thousand — A  mother's  touching  letter — Home 
of  Robert  Harkness — Knelt  in  a  gold  mine — Conversions 
due  to  the  missions — Meetings  in  Sydney — Australia's  Warm 

heart  :  349 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Journey  Homeward  Across  America. — The  stop  in  Chicago — 

These  three  great  company   362 

CHAPTER  XXX 

At  Northfield  and  on  the  Bowery. — Weak  spot  in  his  ministry — 
Meeting  in  the  Bowery — Sang  because  they  had  to — In- 
fluence of  a  tract — "My  old  mother's  religion— Mr.  Alex- 
ander at  Mont-Lawn — In  Mont-Lawn  chapel — The  Stigma  of 
a  lie — An  outdoor  service  368 


I 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Charles  M.  Alexander  Frontispiece 

The  Alexander  Chorus  at  Melbourne,  Australia    .    .    .    .  22 

The  First  "At  Home'*  Bible  Class  in  Iowa   31 

The  First  Choir  Practice  in  the  City  Hall  at  Melbourne, 

Australia                                                              . .  38 

Dr.  Reuben  Archer  Torrey                                           .  43 

Dr.  Torrey  Preaching  at  the  Last  Meeting,  Melbourne, 

Australia   54 

Dr.  R.  a.  Torrey  and  His  Family  in  England    ...    .    .  59 

A  Choir  on  Wheels  in  New  Zealand   66 

Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  at  the  Railway  Workshops, 

Christchurch,    New    Zealand   75 

An  Open-air  Audience  Singing  'Tell  Mother  I'll  be  TheI^e"  82 

The  Farewell  to  the  Evangelists  at  Dunedin,  New  Zealand  82 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  at  the  Home  of  Mrs.  Cadbury  .  .  87 
A  Section  of  the  Audience  of  12,000  Children  at  Royal 

Albert  Hall   98 

The  Great  Meeting  in  St.  George's  Market,  Belfast,  Ireland  103 
A  Group  of  Cricket  Players  Who  Were  Converted  in  the 

South  London  Campaign    .    .   no 

Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  With  a  Group  of  Soldier  Con- 
verts AT  Plymouth,  England    .    .    .    .   119 

Col.  H.  G.  B.  Beauchamp,  C.  B.,  of  the  British  Army    .    .    .  126 

Lord  Kinnaird    ................  143 

EX'GoV.  W.  J.  NORTHEN,  OF  GEORGIA   143 

Mr.  Paul  Gilbert   143 

Secretary  J.  J.  Virgo   143 

The  Evangelists  and  a  Party  of  Forty  Cambridge  University 

STU]!)|DNts   194 

The  S>ficient  Hospital  Corps  at  Bolton^  England  ....  211 


/ 


ILI.USTRATIONS 


XV 


PAGE 

Toronto  Choir  on  the  Steps  of  the  Parliament  Buildings, 

Ottawa,  Canada   218 

The  Children's  "Sunbeam  Choir"  in  Ottawa,  Canada    .    f    .  227 

The  Temporary  Tabernacle  on  the  Strand,  London    .    .    .  250 

Jewish  Children  Who  Attended  the  Children's  Meetings    .  250 

Mr.  Edward  Roberts  Taking  Friends  to  Tournament  Hall    ,  267 

Mr.  Robert  Harkness  and  Mr.  Alexander  in  New  Zealand    .  274 

Mr.  Alexander  and  Mr.  Charles  Cooke,  the  Iroquois  Indian  283 

Indian  Girls  in  a  Mission  School  in  Bombay,  India    .    .    .  306 

Mrs.  Hume  and  Some  of  Her  Pupils  in  India   323 

The  Leper  Printing  Office  at  Pakhoi,  China   330 

Mrs.  Alexander  Watching  a  Chinese  Farmer  at  Work    .    .  339 

The  Gospel  Singer  in  Chinese  Costume   339 

The  Announcement  of  Mr.  Alexander's  Meeting  at  Hong- 
Kong                                                            ....  346 

Mr.  Alexander  Taking  the  Photograph  of  Mr.  Norman 

Mackenzie  .363 

Mr.  Alexander  Riding  a  Water  Buffalo  at  Manila  ...  363 
"Tennessee''  the  Home  of  Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  at 

Birmingham,  England   370 


ALEXANDER  REVIVAL  HYMNS 


PAGE 


Don't  Stop  Praying   163 

Tell  Mother  Fll  Be  There   164 

Is  He  Yours?   166 

He  Will  Hold  Me  Fast  *    .    .  167 

Glory  Song   168 

No  Burdens  Yonder   170 

Oh,  What  a  Chance   172 

Shadows   174 


) 


Twice  Around  the  World 
With  Alexander 


I 

TWICE  AROUND  THE  WORLD 

Twice  around  the  World  in  quest  of  souls!  To  few 
evangelists  has  such  a  privilege  been  granted.  The  apostle 
Paul  toured  much  of  the  world  in  his  day,  but  it  was  only  a 
fraction  of  our  planet.  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys,  and  Moody 
and  Sankey  visited  America  and  England  in  their  wonderful 
missions  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost;  but  it  remained  for 
Dr.  Reuben  A.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander  com- 
pletely to  encircle  the  globe;  and  then  for  Mr.  Alexander  to 
make  a  second  world  tour,  revisiting  old  scenes,  leading  thou- 
sands in  Gospel  song  and  preaching  Christ  to  individuals  on 
land  and  sea. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  book  to  set  forth  the  story  of  these  two 
journeys.  During  the  first,  in  company  with  Dr.  Torrey,  over 
100,000  people  were  led  to  make  a  public  confession  of  their 
faith  in  Christ.  During  the  second,  which  was  undertaken 
primarily  for  Mrs.  Alexander's  health,  many  were  led  to  the 
Saviour  both  in  great  gatherings,  conducted  by  the  Gospel 


i8       Twice)  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai.kxandi:r 

singer,  and  in  the  more  quiet  method  of  personal  deaHng  on 
the  deck  of  a  steamer,  or  whithersoever  the  evangeHst  and  his 
wife  went  in  their  world  tour. 

SUCCESSORS  OF  MOODY  AND  SANKEY 

The  itinerary  of  the  two  journeys  varied  considerably.  In 
the  first  Mr.  Alexander  went  directly  from  Vancouver  to  Mel- 
bourne, Australia,  where  he  met  Dr.  Torrey,  and,  with  nearly 
fifty  other  evangelists,  began  the  Simultaneous  Mission,  that 
started  a  great  wave  of  revival  which  swept  over  Australia,  and 
in  which  more  than  20,000  publicly  confessed  Christ.  After 
having  toured  Australia,  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand,  in  com- 
pany with  Dr.  Torrey  for  six  months,  the  evangelists  spent 
several  weeks  in  India,  where  hundreds  of  natives  were  con- 
verted, and  where  many  missionaries  were  inspired  and  blessed 
by  the  Missions  in  Madras,  Calcutta,  Bombay  and  other  places. 

From  India  the  evangelists  went  to  Great  Britain,  where  for 
three  years  they  went  up  and  down  the  land,  conducting  Mis- 
sions in  the  leading  cities.  The  largest  buildings  were  in- 
adequate to  accommodate  the  crowds  which  flocked  to  hear 
them.  They  became  known  as  "the  successors  of  Moody  and 
Sankey."  In  Liverpool,  where  they  conducted  two  missions, 
over  12,000  converts  were  recorded.  A  great  iron  building 
holding  about  12,500  people  was  erected  for  their  second  Mis- 
sion, and  on  the  closing  night  it  is  estimated  that  15,000  people 
were  inside,  and  nearly  or  quite  20,000  were  packed  outside. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  ENGLAND 
In  Birmingham  during  a  single  month's  campaign  7,700 
confessed  Christ;  while  in  London,  in  a  five  months'  Mission. 


Twice  Around  thk  WorIvD 


19 


held  in  Royal  Albert  Hall,  England's  finest  auditorium,  and  in 
two  specially  erected  iron  buildings,  about  17,000  made  a  pub- 
lic profession.  In  all,  during  the  three  years'  work  in  the 
British  Isles,  about  80,000  converts  were  recorded,  and  mis- 
sions were  held  in  the  following  cities : 


London  Liverpool  Aberdeen 

Birmingham  Manchester  Dundee 

Glasgow  Edinburgh  Cardiff 

Belfast  Dublin  Brighton 

Bolton  Sheffield  Bristol 

Bradford  Plymouth 


At  the  beginning  of  the  first  tour  Mr.  Alexander  left 
America,  a  comparatively  unknown  Gospel  singer;  at  its  con- 
clusion he  was  the  best  known  Gospel  singer  of  the  time,  and 
the  greatest  choir  leader  since  the  organization  of  Gospel  choirs. 
He  began  in  Melbourne,  Australia,  with  a  choir  having  a  mem- 
bership of  1,250;  while  in  London  the  membership  of  his  choirs 
exceeded  4,000  with  frequently  1,000  present  at  a  single  meet- 
ing. He  set  the  whole  world  to  singing  the  ''Glory  Song."  It 
has  appeared  in  print  about  17,000,000  times,  and  has  been 
translated  into  17  languages.  A  London  musical  expert  de- 
clared he  had  never  known  any  other  song,  sacred  or  secular, 
to  achieve  such  sudden  popularity  throughout  England  and  the 
colonies  as  did  the  "Glory  Song." 

MR.  ALEXANDER'S  SECOND  JOURNEY 
On  his  second  tour  of  the  world  Mr.  Alexander,  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  went  in  the  opposite  direction  from  his  first  jour- 


20       Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

ney.  Leaving  London,  England,  he  passed  through  the  Medi- 
terranean and  the  Suez  Canal ;  touched  at  Ceylon ;  then  went  to 
Hong-Kong  and  Pakhoi,  China,  where  a  month  was  spent 
studying  missions  and  assisting  the  missionaries,  and  where  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  conversions  of  his  entire  experience 
occurred.  After  a  notable  Gospel  meeting  in  a  Hong-Kong 
theatre,  the  Philippine  Islands  were  visited,  and  he  took  part  in 
interesting  Sunday  services. 

Mr.  Alexander  next  spent  a  month  in  Australia,  revisiting 
scenes  of  former  victories  and  strengthening  the  faith  of  the 
converts.  Wonderful  meetings  were  held  in  Melbourne,  Syd- 
ney and  other  places.  More  than  10,000  people  were  present  at 
his  meeting  in  the  Exhibition  Building,  Melbourne,  and  many 
came  forward  to  accept  Christ.  At  Sydney,  where  the  leaders 
thought  it  doubtful  whether  they  could  get  the  hall  filled,  it 
was  quickly  packed  with  5,000  people ;  and  about  as  many  more 
were  unable  to  secure  admission. 

Leaving  Australia,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  sailed  to  Van- 
couver. They  crossed  America  rapidly,  stopping,  however,  to 
hold  some  interesting  meetings  in  Chicago.  Thence  they  went 
to  New  York  and  sailed  for  Southampton,  arriving  there  about 
seven  months  after  their  departure. 

WHAT  WAS  ACCOMPLISHED 
The  following  is  a  partial  table  of  statistics  of  the  two 
journeys: 

Miles  traveled  from  begining  of  first  jour- 
ney to  end  of  second,  about   100,000 

Countries  visited  in  course  of  two  journeys.  14 


Twice  Around  the;  Wori.d 


23 


Cities  in  which  meetings  were  held,  about.  .  35 
Number  of  people  in  meetings  (estimated)  .  6,000,000 
Largest  number  at  one  meeting,  about.  . .  .  35,000 

Number  of  converts  recorded,  over   100000 

Number  of  languages  ''Glory  Song"  trans- 
lated    17 

Number  of  times  "Glory  Song''  in  print. .  .17,000,000 


n 


FROM  FARM  TO  FAMOUS  GOSPEL  SINGER 

Befork  giving  a  detailed  narrative  of  the  two  world  tours, 
let  us  rapidly, survey  the  life  story  of  this  man,  who  has  been 
raised  up  to  fill  a  unique  place  in  modern  life  and  to  teach 
myriads  to  "sing  a  new  song.'' 

His  career  reads  like  a  chapter  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
It  is  a  romance  of  Faith  in  God.  It  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
illustrations  of  answered  prayer  in  this  generation.  ''Every 
great  event  of  my  life  has  come  to  pass  in  answer  to  prayer," 
declares  Mr.  Alexander,  and  this  is  the  keynote  of  his  career. 

It  was  in  1867  ^^^^  Alexander  was  born  in  a  log-house 
among  the  hills  of  Tennessee.  His  parents  were  poor,  but 
God-fearing,  with  strong  musical  talents.  But  little  did  they 
dream,  as  their  son  Charles  drove  the  cows  home  in  the  waning 
twilight,  singing  Gospel  hymns  as  he  plodded  onward,  that  he 
would  one  day  become  one  of  the  most  famous  Gospel  singers 
and  leaders  in  the  world. 

A  RELIGIOUS  HOME  ATMOSPHERE 

Though  he  was  born  in  a  humble  home,  yet  it  was  delight- 
fully situated.  Many  of  his  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  ad- 
venturous ramblings  through  forest  and  glen,  over  hill  and 
dale,  picking  berries,  exploring  the  brooks  and  streams,  and 
lying  upon  his  back  watching  the  fleecy  clouds  and  dreaming  of 
the  future.    The  singer  loves  to  recall  the  memories  of  those 


From  Farm  to  Famous  Gospel  Singer  25 

early  years,  and  of  his  dearly  beloved  and  honored  parents. 
Speaking  to  me  of  the  religious  influences  with  which  he  was 
surrounded,  he  said : 

''My  father  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a 
leader  in  good  works.  My  mother  was  a  consecrated  woman, 
full  of  deep  piety,  with  a  strong  practical  strain.  The  only 
papers  we  took  were  religious  ones;  and  in  the  evening  we 
would  all  gather  round  the  fireside,  and  mother  would  read 
aloud  from  them.  Also,  on  stormy  and  rainy  days,  mother  would 
read  aloud  to  us  children.  She  loved  most  to  read  sermons, 
and  Moody's  sermons  were  our  favorites.  Sometimes  when 
she  had  read  other  sermons  she  would  say,  'Well,  now,  my  chil- 
dren, these  are  very  good,  but  I'll  read  you  some  more  of 
Moody's.  He  goes  right  to  our  hearts,  and  he  bases  what  he 
says  on  the  Word  of  God.'  I  remember  how  we  would  all 
break  down  and  cry  together  over  some  of  his  stories. 

HIS  MOTHER'S  INFLUENCE 

"Some  of  the  most  potent  influences  in  molding  my  life  and 
sweetening  it  were  the  long  talks  with  my  mother  on  rainy 
days.  While  the  rain  was  beating  upon  the  roof,  and  the  wind 
was  howling  in  the  trees  outside,  she  would  tell  me  the  stories 
of  the  chief  Bible  characters  and  point  out  the  lessons  to  be  de- 
rived from  them.  She  was  full  of  sympathy  for  the  poor,  and 
was  easily  touched  by  the  misery  of  others.  She  was  a  clear- 
headed thinker,  original  and  practical.  The  chief  books  in  our 
home  were  religious,  for  my  father  had  a  penchant  for  pur- 
chasing portions  of  ministers'  libraries ;  and  my  earliest  reading 
was  almost  entirely  of  a  religious  character. 

"My  mother  sang  sweetly,  while  my  father  was  famous 


26       Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

through  all  the  region  round  about  as  a  musical  leader.  My 
father  purchased  the  first  book  of  Modern  Gospel  songs  that 
came  out  when  Moody  and  Sankey  were  doing  their  great 
work.  Then  we  kept  getting  the  Gospel  hymns  as  they  were 
published.  Almost  as  soon  as  I  was  able  to  read  anything  my 
father  taught  me  to  read  music.  He  would  take  my  hand  in  his, 
and  we  never  sang  a  new  song  together  without  beating  time 
with  the  hand.  It  was  thus  as  a  child  that  I  learned  to  use  my 
hands  in  leading  Gospel  singing.  I  well  recall  how  on  Sunday 
afternoons  people  would  drive  from  far  and  near  over  the  hills 
and  gather  on  our  veranda,  while  my  father  would  lead  them 
for  hours  in  singing  sacred  hymns.  Music  thrilled  me  from 
earliest  childhood." 

Charles  was  the  oldest  of  a  family  of  four  children — three 
sons  and  a  daughter.  One  of  his  brothers  is  in  the  ministry, 
and  the  other  in  the  service  of  the  Government  in  Tennessee ; 
while  his  sister  is  a  pastor's  assistant  in  Knoxville. 

The  earliest  book  Mr.  Alexander  read  was  the  New  Testa- 
ment. He  joined  the  church,  and  read  considerable  religious 
literature,  and  when  in  his  teens  was  not  an  out-and-out  Chris- 
tian. Through  reading  an  article  about  the  late  Patrick  Gil- 
more  he  acquired  a  consuming  ambition  to  organize  great 
choirs  of  singers,  and  to  become  a  proficient  musical  conductor. 
He  thought  that  his  life  work  would  be  secular,  something 
like  Gilmore's. 

HEARS  SANKEY  SING  AT  KNOXVILLE 

Young  Alexander  was  sixteen  years  old  when  he  first  saw 
and  heard  Moody  and  Sankey.  Long  before  that  he  had 
known  them  both  by  reputation,  and  was  very  anxious  to  see 


From  Farm  to  Famous  GospKIv  Singe:r  27 

and  hear  them.  Now  at  last  the  great  opportunity  had  come. 
The  meeting  was  at  Knoxville,  in  the  big  opera-house.  His 
heart  began  to  thump  as  Sankey  came  on  the  platform  and 
seated  himself  at  his  little  organ.  Up  in  his  high  position, 
young  Alexander,  with  keen,  watchful  eyes,  followed  every 
movement  of  the  noted  singer;  and  when  he  heard  him  sing, 
''When  the  Mists  Have  Rolled  Away,"  he  felt  as  if  he  were 
in  heaven. 

The  other  hymns  which  Mr.  Sankey  sang  on  this  occasion 
are  also  remembered  by  Mr.  Alexander.  Mr.  Moody,  that 
night,  preached  on  Abraham ;  and  as  the  lad  looked  down  upon 
the  people  below  him,  as  the  speaker  drew  towards  the  close,  he 
thought  that  never  before  had  he  seen  so  many  handkerchiefs 
in  use.  The  preacher  had  touched  all  hearts;  and  when  he 
invited  all  who  were  willing  to  accept  Christ  to  rise  to  their 
feet,  there  was  a  general  movement  throughout  the  building. 
It  was  a  new  sight  for  the  young  lad  in  the  gallery ;  and  as  he 
went  home  he  pondered  the  things  he  had  seen  and  heard. 

LEAVES  HOME  FOR  COLLEGE 

It  is  a  critical  period  in  a  young  man's  life  when  he  leaves 
home  for  college.  In  the  good  providence  of  God  some  words 
were  spoken  to  young  Alexander  as  he  entered  this  new  phase 
of  his  life,  which  were  a  source  of  strength  to  him  throughout 
the  coming  years.  He  once  told  me  this  incident  which  I  hope 
will  help  other  young  men  as  they  break  the  ties  of  home  to 
battle  alone  with  the  world : 

*'I  well  remember  the  day  when,  as  a  youth,  I  started  out 
from  my  country  home  for  the  university.  Good  old  Deacon 
Hudgins  came  along  with  his  wagon  and  took  me,  with  my  be- 


28       Twice)  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

longings,  twelve  miles  over  the  hills  to  the  university  town.  It 
was  a  beautiful,  balmy  day  as  we  drove  along,  each  of  us  lost 
in  thought.  At  last  Deacon  Hudgins  gave  utterance  to  the 
following  words  of  advice :  'My  boy,  you  are  going  to  a  place 
where  it  will  be  easy  for  you  to  find  bad  companions.  You 
will  not  have  the  influence  of  your  quiet.  Christian  home  and 
a  good  mother  to  keep  you  straight.  Do  not  disgrace  the  pro- 
fession you  have  made  in  our  country  church,  but  be  true  to 
your  church  membership.'  I  have  never  forgotten  those 
words.  In  my  most  mischievous  hours,  when  strong  tempta- 
tions came  to  me  to  adopt  a  companion  who  would  lead  me 
in  wrong  paths,  I  remembered  that  the  members  of  the  little 
church  would  be  thinking  of  the  disgrace  that  I  should  bring 
upon  them  if  I  went  wrong.  It  was  a  great  factor  in  keeping 
me  true  and  pure." 

When  asked  about  his  first  experience  as  a  musical  con- 
ductor, Mr.  Alexander  said:  ''I  began  my  career  as  a  con- 
ductor of  singing  while  teaching  a  country  school  when  about 
seventeen  years  of  age.  I  developed  in  music  rapidly,  studied 
at  a  musical  college  for  a  few  months,  and  was  then  appointed 
Director  of  Music  in  the  university  which  I  had  formerly 
attended.  It  was  a  remarkable  fact  that  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
students  there  were  Christians,  and  most  of  the  music  used  in 
practicing  and  in  public  entertainments  was  religious. 

*'I  had  all  grades  in  my  classes  in  the  college — about  three 
hundred  in  all.  I  also  organized  and  taught  a  large  brass 
band,  which  was  most  popular  among  the  students.  The 
religious  influence  in  the  college  was  very  helpful,  but  I  did 
not  obey  the  call  for  full  surrender,  though  there  was  always 
a  voice  in  my  heart  demanding  it.'' 


From  Farm  to  Famous  Gosp^Iv  Singer  29 

Going  through  the  Hbrary  at  this  University  one  day  Mr. 
Alexander  saw  the  Autobiography  of  Charles  G.  Finney. 
He  took  it  out,  read  it,  and  it  opened  a  new  world  to  him. 
So  strongly  did  it  grip  him  that  one  reading  of  it  was  not  suf- 
ficient. He  read  it  through  a  second  time,  and  then  a  third. 
Determined  to  know  more  of  this  wonderful  man,  he  bought 
his  other  books  so  far  as  he  could  find  them,  and  carefully 
read  and  studied  them.  About  the  same  time  he  read  the  life 
of  P.  P.  Bliss,  the  great  Gospel  song  writer,  and  the  author  of 
such  well  known  hymns  as,  ''I  am  so  Glad  that  my  Father  in 
Heaven,"  "Hold  the  Fort"  and  "Wonderful  Words  of  Life." 
This  book,  written  by  Major  Whittle,  also  made  a  lasting 
impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  young  musician. 

RESOLVES  TO  DEVOTE  HIS  LIFE  TO  SACRED  SONG 

It  was  at  this  time  that  an  event  occurred  which  changed 
the  entire  course  of  his  life,  and  led  him  to  devote  his  eflforts 
entirely  to  sacred  song.  In  tender  tones  Mr.  Alexander  told 
of  this  crucial  experience.  ''While  I  was  teaching,"  said  he, 
''I  had  a  telegram  from  my  mother,  saying  that  my  father  was 
not  expected  to  live;  and  I  hurried  to  my  home,  which  was 
then  in  Atlanta,  Georgia.  On  my  journey  I  had  time  to  think; 
and  the  world  changed  in  a  very  few  hours.  Father  lived  for 
a  week ;  and  during  that  time  my  outlook  upon  the  world  was 
changing  all  the  time.  I  was  looking  at  things  in  the  light 
of  eternity.  The  night  my  father  died  it  came  to  me,  as 
never  before,  the  worth  of  a  human  soul.  He  could  not  take 
any  of  us ;  he  must  go  alone.  And  I  pondered  how  essential 
it  was  before  everything  else  to  see  that  the  soul  was  safe  in 
God's  keeping. 


30       Twice  Around  "the  Wori.d  With  Ai^kxander 

"I  don't  know  definitely  whether  I  was  converted  before 
that.  When,  following  his  death,  I  had  to  go  across  the  city 
for  an  undertaker,  late  at  night,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  my 
heart  would  break.  I  wanted  to  be  absolutely  certain  that  my 
father  was  in  heaven,  for  I  had  not  studied  the  Bible  closely 
enough  to  know  how  the  entrance  there  was  gained.  I  knew 
he  was  an  elder  in  a  church,  and  all  that ;  but  as  I  went  along 
the  street  I  cried  to  God:  'If  there  is  any  way  that  thou 
revealest  thyself  to  people,  whether  by  vision,  or  voice,  or 
impression,  give  me  the  certainty  that  my  father  is  with  thee 
and  safe' ;  and  I  promised  him  that  I  would  serve  him  all  my 
life  if  he  would  but  give  me  the  assurance.  As  clearly  as  any- 
thing I  ever  experienced  in  my  life,  the  impression  came  to 
me,  'Your  father  is  up  here  with  Me.'  There  and  then 
I  promised  to  serve  him  all  my  life,  looking  naturally  up  at 
the  stars,  and  the  load  lifted  from  me. 

"Filled  as  I  was  with  thoughts  of  eternity,  the  buildings  on 
each  side  of  me  looked  like  mere  rubbish,  though  I  remember 
that  before  when  I  went  down  those  streets  I  used  often  to 
say,  'I  should  like  to  own  one  of  those  splendid  blocks.' 
Every  time  I  saw  a  man  coming  out  of  a  saloon  I  wanted  to  go 
up  to  him  and  throw  my  arms  about  him,  and  tell  him :  'You 
are  going  to  hell,  man.  Why  don't  you  accept  Jesus  Christ?' 
A  great  longing  to  save  souls  came  to  me  that  night,  and  has 
been  with  me — though  I  have  sometimes  grown  cold — from 
that  day  to  the  present." 

ATTENDS  BIBLE  INSTITUTE 
After  young  Alexander  had  been  summoned  home  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  he  did  not  immediately  return  to  his  post 


From  Farm  to  Famous  Gospeiv  Singe:r  33 

at  Maryville  University,  but  remained  for  some  months  upon 
the  family  farm,  comforting  his  mother  and  making  plans  for 
the  future  of  his  brothers  and  sister.  All  thought  of  a  secular 
career  was  now  abandoned ;  and  he  was  determined  to  devote 
every  energy  towards  winning  souls  for  Christ.  He  declares 
that  those  three  weeks  upon  the  farm,  following  his  father's 
death,  were  days  of  heaven  on  earth,  though  they  were  days 
of  loneliness.  The  beauty  of  the  Scriptures  was  then  revealed 
to  him  as  never  before. 

Hearing  of  the  Moody  Bijle  Institute  in  Chicago,  he  soon 
gained  sufficient  funds  to  attend  it  for  a  brief  period.  Before 
going,  however,  he  talked  about  the  wonderful  Christian 
training  school  to  all  his  friends ;  and  such  was  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  young  man  that  he  did  not  go  alone,  but  took  eight 
friends  with  him  to  Chicago  to  attend  the  school.  Before  he 
left  the  Institute  he  had  induced  thirty-two  people  from  the 
Southern  States  to  attend  it ;  and  he  has  since  been  the  means 
of  leading  scores  of  others  to  undertake  its  course  of  study. 

During  his  first  few  months  at  the  Institute  it  was  his  priv- 
ilege to  have,  as  a  teacher,  the  beloved  evangelist  and  Bible 
student,  the  late  Major  Whittle;  and  he  declares  that  he  will 
never  forget  the  invaluable  lessons  learned  from  this  prince 
among  men.  Through  Major  Whittle,  Mr.  Alexander  was 
led  to  deeper  consecration  than  he  had  previously  known. 
For  years  he  had  harbored  a  spirit  of  unforgiveness  towards 
a  former  friend  who  was  hundreds  of  miles  away ;  but  at  last, 
after  a  stirring  address  by  Major  Whittle,  in  which  the 
speaker  said  that  if  the  young  men  were  not  getting  answers 
to  their  prayers  it  was  because  they  harbored  sin  in  their 
hearts,  Mr.  Alexander  went  to  his  room,  threw  himself  upon 


34       Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

his  knees  and  cried  to  God  for  mercy.  He  cast  out  every  whit 
of  ill-feeling  towards  his  friend,  sat  down  and  wrote  him  a 
letter,  and  in  a  few  days  they  were  reconciled. 

HIS  FIRST  GOSPEL  TOUR 

After  completing,  the  course  at  the  Moody  Bible  Institute, 
Mr.  Alexander  became  the  singing  associate  of  Rev.  Milan  B. 
Williams,  a  strong  evangelist.  Before  this  he  had  often 
planned  to  go  with  various  men  in  Christian  work,  and  had 
wanted  to  have  his  own  way  about  it.  Later  events  proved 
each  time  that  it  would  not  have  been  best  for  him,  had  he 
been  successful  in  his  ambition.  Finally  one  day,  about  the 
first  of  September,  when  he  felt  that  he  should  be  at  work  for 
his  Master,  he  got  on  his  knees  at  his  bedside  and  stayed  there 
until  he  had  completely  handed  over  his  will  to  God.  He  told 
him  that  he  had  made  a  failure  of  securing  the  proper  work ; 
that  he  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  go  wherever  he  wanted 
him  to  go,  and  with  whomsoever  he  chose.  About  six  days 
afterwards,  a  telegram  came  to  the  Institute  from  Mr.  Will- 
iams, and  Mr.  Alexander  responded.  He  went  out  to  be  with 
Mr.  Williams  for  two  weeks,  but  remained  with  him  for  rtiore 
than  eight  years. 

In  Iowa,  during  five  years,  they  conducted  missions  in 
thirty-six  towns  and  cities.  In  a  town  with  a  population  of 
6,000  they  had  800  confess  Christ  in  four  weeks.  In  another 
town  a  tent  was  specially  erected  for  their  meetings,  which 
seated  9,000  people. 


m 


BEGINNING  A  WORLD-WIDE  WORK 

It  was  in  1901  that  Mr.  Alexander  received  an  invitation 
from  Dr.  Torrey,  then  pastor  of  Moody  Church  in  Chicago, 
and  superintendent  of  the  Moody  Bible  Institute,  to  accompany 
him  to  Australia  as  his  Singing  Associate  in  a  Simultaneous 
Mission  in  Melbourne.  After  a  prayerful  consideration,  Mr. 
Alexander  accepted  the  invitation,  for  it  seemed  to  be  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  several  of  his  friends.  In  speaking 
of  what  led  up  to  this  important  event,  Mr.  Alexander  said : 

''Mr.  Williams  decided  to  take  a  three  months'  vacation  and 
travel  in  the  Holy  Land.  I  felt  that  I  must  be  busy  in  the 
Lord's  work  during  his  absence.  Dr.  Torrey,  having  heard 
that  I  would  have  some  time  free,  asked  me  to  accompany 
him  to  Australia.  I  had  no  desire  to  travel.  I  wanted  simply 
to  do  the  Lord's  work.  I  talked  with  my  friends  and  prayed 
about  it;  and  a  group  of  my  especial  friends  who  usually 
prayed  with  me  about  any  important  turn  in  my  work  told  me 
that  they  had  been  praying  for  some  time  that  God  might  lead 
me  into  a  larger  sphere,  and  advised  me  to  go.  Hence  I  con- 
cluded to  go,  and  hurriedly  arranged  the  details  with  Dr. 
Torrey  by  telephone,  although  over  six  hundred  miles  apart. 
I  went  South  to  Tennessee  and  bade  my  mother,  sister  and 
brothers  good-bye,  and  started  alone  on  my  journey  to  Aus- 
tralia. I  did  not  know  a  soul  there,  and  it  was  a  long,  lonely 
trip.    I  went  directly  from  Vancouver  to  Sydney. 


36       Twice:  Around  the  Wori,d  With  Ai.e:xande;r 

A  SEASON  IN  MELBOURNE 

It  was  in  April,  1902,  that  the  great  mission  in  Melbourne 
began,  in  which  7,700  publicly  confessed  Christ  as  their 
Saviour,  and  the  report  of  which  thrilled  Christendom.  The 
Mission  lasted  a  month.  For  the  first  two  weeks  the  meetings 
were  held  in  fifty  different  centers,  by  fifty  different  Mis- 
sioners.  During  the  last  two  weeks  the  meetings  were  con- 
centrated in  the  huge  Exhibition  Hall,  accommodating  nearly 
10,000  people.  Night  after  night  it  was  filled  to  over-flowing; 
and  scenes  transpired  such  as  were  never  before  witnessed  in 
Australia.  W.  E.  Geil,  an  American  evangelist,  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  campaign,  alternating  with  Dr.  Torrey  in 
addressing  the  great  multitudes. 

A  writer  in  a  secular  paper  described  as  follows  the  spectacle 
of  the  vast  throngs  seeking  admission  to  the  building: 

''Very  remarkable  was  the  service  of  the  Simultaneous  Mis- 
sion in  the  Exhibition  Hall  on  Sunday  evening.  Walking  to 
it  through  the  gardens,  the  illuminated  palace,  with  its  electric 
lights  on  top  of  the  dome  shimmering  down  over  the  bulge, 
appeared  more  significant  than  ever.  And  yet  we  have  sur- 
veyed it  when  the  Australian  nation  was  being  launched  inside. 
No  secular  ceremonial,  however  tremendous,  even  the  corona- 
tion of  King  Edward  at  Westminster  Abbey,  can  seize  the 
heart  strings,  like  the  spontaneous  rush  of  15,000  people  drawn 
by  the  Word  of  God.'' 

FAME  COMES  IN  A  NIGHT 

The  Australian  people  did  not  know  of  Mr.  Alexander's 
ability  as  a  choir  leader,  and  had  only  expected  him  to  sing 
solos  at  the  meetings.    Mr.  J.  J.  Virgo,  one  of  the  secretaries 


< 
< 

< 


Beginning  a  WorIvD-wide  Work 


39 


of  the  Mission,  had  been  spoken  of  as  director  of  the  central 
choir.  When,  however,  Mr.  Virgo  learned  of  Mr.  Alexander's 
talent  and  training  as  a  leader  of  Gospel  song,  he  generously 
resigned  in  his  favor;  and  the  Gospel  singer,  who  had  been 
much  discouraged  on  arriving  in  Australia,  and  learning  the 
condition  of  affairs,  was  nominated  by  Mr.  Virgo,  and  unani- 
mously elected  Musical  Superintendent  of  the  Simultaneous 
Mission.  Mr.  Alexander  had  only  needed  a  large  opportunity 
to  reveal  his  real  power  as  a  leader  of  Gospel  song.  The 
great  Exhibition  Building  meetings  gave  him  his  opportunity, 
and  he  became  famous  almost  in  a  night.  The  Australian 
press  was  full  of  praise  of  the  marvelous  manner  in  which  he 
captivated  and  controlled  the  great  multitudes  and  brought 
forth  such  singing  as  had  never  before  been  heard  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Alexander's  revival  songs  swept  through  Australia 
like  a  whirlwind.  Soon  after  reaching  Melbourne  he  published 
a  book  entitled  Alexander  s  Revival  Songs,  and  in  a  short 
time  almost  everybody  was  singing  them.  From  the  very 
first  night  the  'Glory  Song'  ran  like  wildfire  over  the  country. 
It  was  sung  in  shops  and  factories,  ground  out  from  hand- 
organs,  whistled  on  the  street,  hummed  in  trains  and  trams, 
and  became  a  universal  favorite.  The  words  and  music  were 
printed  in  a  large  number  of  publications,  including  even  Mel- 
bourne Punch.  One  writer  declared  that  the  song  ''set  Aus- 
tralia on  fire." 

Dr.  W.  H.  Fitchett,  one  of  the  foremost  religious  leaders  of 
Australia,  and  the  author  of  many  popular  books,  gave  the 
following  graphic  description  of  one  of  Mr.  Alexander's  Song 
Services  at  an  inspirational  meeting  in  the  Melbourne  Town 
Hall,  at  the  opening  of  the  great  Simultaneous  Mission : 


40      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

MR.  ALEXANDER'S  METHOD 
"The  meeting  began  with  what  can  only  be  described  as  a 
great  singing  lesson,  twenty-one  minutes  long,  with  Mr. 
Alexander  as  teacher,  and  2,500  people  of  all  ages  as  his  class. 
Mr.  Alexander  is  tall  of  stature,  commanding  of  look ;  and,  as 
he  took  his  stand  on  a  sort  of  dais,  he  fairly  dominated  the 
whole  gathering.  He  is  a  magnetic  man ;  and  with  his  waving 
arms  for  batons,  his  expressive,  radiant  face,  and  his  fine 
voice,  he  swayed  organ,  choir,  platform  and  audience  at  his 
pleasure.  The  song  in  which  he  drilled  his  class  was  both 
new  and  beautiful.    It  runs : 

*When  all  my  labors  and  trials  are  o'er, 
That  will  be  glory,  be  glory  for  me.' 

''The  tune  to  which  these  words  are  set  is  both  fine  and 
catching.  First,  the  massed  choir  sang  the  hymn  through, 
while  the  audience  listened.  Then  Mr.  Alexander  swung 
round,  and  with  swaying  arms  drew  the  whole  audience  into 
melody.  Presently,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  he  silenced  the 
choir,  and  the  audience  alone  sang  the  verse.  Then  he  hushed 
the  great  mass  of  people  on  the  floor,  and  bade  the  people  in 
the  galleries  sing  it.  A  thread  of  music,  in  response,  ran 
round  the  three  front  seats  of  the  gallery,  but  singing  appar- 
ently grows  rather  faint  in  those  altitudes. 

'Now,'  said  Mr.  Alexander,  suddenly,  'let  the  platform 
sing  it  alone.'  Silence  fell  instantly  on  all  the  rest  of  the 
audience,  the  silence  of  half-amused  curiosity.  But  the  plat- 
form acquitted  itself  surprisingly  well ;  some  250  manly  voices 
poured  themselves  into  song  with  quite  astonishing  energy; 
and  at  the  close  the  whole  audience  broke  into  an  involuntary 


Beginning  a  World-wide  Work 


41 


storm  of  applause.  Nobody  had  suspected  the  'parsons'  of 
such  singing  gifts ! 

''Nothing  else  is  more  striking  in  the  great  Mission  now 
in  progress  than  the  charm  and  effectiveness  of  the  singing. 
Mr.  Alexander  is,  of  course,  a  conductor  of  the  first  order ;  and 
he  exercises  a  curious  spell  over  an  audience.  He  drills  an 
audience  of  over  a  thousand  people  with  the  decision  and 
authority  of  a  first  class  drill  sergeant.  He  scolds,  rebukes, 
exhorts,  jests  with  almost  more  than  American  versatility  and 
readiness.  And  the  amusing  feature  is  that  the  great  audience 
enjoys  being  scolded  and  drilled.  And  the  singing,  with  its  ease 
and  fire  and  exultation  and  the  note  of  triumphant  faith  that 
runs  through  it  all,  melts  the  audience  as  fire  would  melt  wax. 
In  the  mid-day  meetings  the  floor  of  the  Town  Hall  is  one 
mosaic  of  men's  faces,  the  majority  of  them  middle-aged, 
many  of  them  old.  Time  and  care  have  ploughed  deep  fur- 
rows on  most  of  them.  They  seem  at  first  an  audience  for 
whom  music  ceased  to  have  any  office.  But  as  the  singing  goes 
on,  the  tired  faces  relax;  the  eyes  brighten;  the  lips  begin  to 
move.  A  wave  of  sunshine  seems  to  run  over  the  human 
landscape  before  one.  Music,  in  its  truest  and  highest  office 
as  the  servant  and  vehicle  of  religion,  has  fulfilled  its  highest 
function.  It  has  set  thousands  of  human  souls  vibrating  in 
gladness.  No  one  need  doubt  that  the  Gospel  can  be  sung  as 
effectively  as  it  can  be  spoken.  And  what  other  creed  than 
that  of  Christianity  can  be  set  to  music  in  this  fashion  ?" 

ALL  MELBOURNE  SINGS  THE  "GLORY  SONG*' 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  work  of  the 
evangelists  in  Australia  was  the  unprecedented  popularity  of 


42       Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


the  ''Glory  Song."  It  may  safely  be  said  to  have  led  hundreds 
into  the  kingdom.  ^lany  beautiful  and  touching  incidents  are 
recorded  of  its  influence  upon  human  life.  At  the  close  of 
the  ^Melbourne  campaign  a  touching  incident  occured  which 
]\Ir.  Alexander  related  to  me  as  follows: 

"It  seemed  to  me  that  everybody  in  Melbourne  was  singing 
the  "Glory  Song."  Brass  bands  played  it,  and  it  was  sung  and 
played  in  all  sorts  of  places.  The  last  day  I  was  in  Melbourne  I 
had  to  rise  very  early  to  take  a  train  to  Warnambool  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  I  came  out,  the  maid  was  scrubbing 
the  floor  of  the  hall  outside  my  door,  and  softly  crooning: 

'When  by  his  grace  I  shall  look  on  his  face 
That  will  be  glory  for  me.' 

''I  went  down  to  the  hotel  office,  took  the  receiver  off  the 
telephone,  wishing  to  telephone  a  friend  across  the  city,  and,  as 
I  placed  it  to  my  ear,  I  heard  the  girl  at  the  telephone 
exchange  singing, 

'Oh,  that  will  be  glory  for  me. 

"I  got  on  the  train  and  started  on  my  journey.  As  we 
passed  through  Terang,  a  man  and  his  wife,  whom  I  had  met 
at  the  ^Melbourne  ^Mission,  came  dow^n  to  the  station  to  meet 
us ;  and  we  had  a  few  words  together.  The  lady  said,  'Mr. 
Alexander,  I  am  sure  you  will  be  glad  to  know  anything  about 
the  "Glory  Song.''  I  learned  it  at  the  ^Mission  in  ^lelbourne, 
and  have  been  over  to-day  to  talk  to  a  friend  on  a  dying  bed. 
I  was  telling  her  about  the  ^lission  and  the  ''Glory  Song,"  and 
she  asked  me  to  sing  her  a  verse.  I  sang  one  verse,  and  she 
said,  'Oh,  that  is  so  glorious !  please  sing  another.'  I  sang 
another,  and  then  sang  the  chorvis,  and  while  I  was  singing. 


DR.  REUBEN  ARCHER  TORREY 


Beginning  a  WorIvD-wide  Work 


45 


'When  by  His  Grace  I  Shall  Look  on  His  Face/  she  passed 
to  see  the  King  in  his  beauty.'  " 

THE  SHOEMAKER  AND  THE  "GLORY  SONG" 

It  was  during  the  mission  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander 
in  Sydney  that  another  beautiful  incident  in  connection  with 
the  *'Glory  Song''  occurred.    Mr.  Alexander  said : 

''When  we  were  conducting  our  campaign  in  the  great 
Town  Hall  at  Sydney,  we  had  leaflets  with  the  'Glory  Song' 
words  and  music  printed  on  them,  and  an  invitation  to  the 
meetings  printed  at  the  bottom.  We  distributed  them  by 
thousands,  handing  them  to  each  person  as  he  came  in.  We 
would  ask  them,  if  they  already  had  a  copy  of  the  song  in 
their  song  books  to  post  the  leaflets  to  friends  in  the  country 
who  never  got  new  songs  or  put  them  in  parcels  as  they  sent 
them  away.  One  day  I  had  asked  them  to  do  this,  and  a  lady, 
when  she  got  home,  was  sending  some  shoes  to  be  mended 
when  she  happened  to  think  about  her  'Glory  Song,'  and  put 
the  leaflet  in  the  bundle  with  the  shoes.  The  next  day  she 
went  down  to  the  shoemaker's  to  get  them,  and  found  the  old 
fellow  pegging  away  with  the  tears  falling  down  his  cheeks. 

"She  said,  'What  is  the  matter?'  He  said,  'Do  you  remem- 
ber the  'Glory  Song'  that  you  put  into  the  bundle  ?  Last  night 
I  got  my  family  around  the  organ  and  we  sang  it.  I  noticed 
the  invitation  to  come  to  the  Town  Hall  and  hear  Torrey  and 
Alexander,  so  I  went  up  last  night.  I  heard  that  man  preach, 
and  I  gave  my  heart  to  God.  I  have  sent  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren up  this  afternoon  to  the  meetings,  and  I  am  just  here 
praying  that  God  will  save  them.'  The  next  night  the  whole 
family  confessed  their  acceptance  of  Christ." 


IV 


THE  REVIVAL  IN  AUSTRALIA 

Th^  news  of  the  great  work  of  grace  in  Melbourne  spread 
throughout  the  commonwealth;  and  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Alexander  had  calls  to  conduct  meetings  in  the  chief  cities  of 
Australia,  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  For  six  months  they 
went  up  and  down  the  land  with  ceaseless  energy,  conducting 
campaigns  of  a  few  days  or  a  few  weeks  in  the  largest  cities. 

Everywhere  enormous  throngs  gathered  to  hear  them.  No 
building  could  be  found  large  enough  to  contain  the  multitudes 
that  assembled,  so  that  separate  meetings  had  to  be  held  for 
men  and  for  women.  Thousands  of  converts  were  recorded. 
Among  the  Australian  cities  in  which  they  held  missions  were : 
Ballarat,  Geelong,  Warnambool,  Maryborough,  Christchurch 
Bendigo  and  Sydney.  It  was  in  Bendigo  that  Mr.  Alexander 
met  and  led  to  Christ  Mr.  Robert  Harkness,  a  brilliant  young 
musical  genius,  who  became  his  pianist  and  accompanied  him 
in  his  mission  work.  Mr.  Harkness  made  the  decision  to 
accept  Christ  as  he  rode  along  on  his  bicycle  after  a  long  talk 
with  Mr.  Alexander  at  a  hotel  in  Bendigo. 

THE  EXPERIENCE  OF  MR.  HARKNESS 

He  frequently  tells  the  story  of  his  conversion  in  Mission 
meetings : 

"In  June,  1902,  in  AustraHa,"  said  he,  "I  accepted  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour.   I  had  been  living  an  easy 


The:  Revivai,  in  Austrai^ia 


47 


sort  of  way,  thinking  that  some  day  perhaps  I  should  become  a 
Christian,  but  for  the  time  being,  while  I  was  still  young,  I 
would  make  myself  comfortable  and  have  a  good  time.  I  never 
plunged  into  the  vicious  sins  that  entrap  many  young  men. 

''I  had  a  godly  father  on  the  one  side,  and  a  saintly  mother 
on  the  other.  We  had  family  prayers  in  our  home,  and  I  had 
every  influence  for  good  surrounding  me.  I  used  to  go  to 
the  Bible  class  every  Sunday  afternoon ;  and  I  attended  church 
regularly  for  I  was  the  organist.  My  mother  used  to  plead 
with  me  about  my  need  of  a  Saviour;  she  was  very  faithful 
and  every  now  and  then  she  would  take  me  aside,  and  tell  me 
as  plainly  as  anybody  could  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  me,  and 
that  if  I  would  accept  him  as  my  Saviour  I  could  have  victory 
over  sin  in  my  every-day  life,  and  would  have  everlasting  life 
on  the  promise  of  the  sure  word  of  God.  But  I  went  on  in 
my  easy  way,  music  being  my  chief  recreation  and  hobby. 

''I  never  was  a  drinking  man,  and  never  went  to  a  horse 
race  in  my  life.  I  never  went  to  a  play  in  my  life,  and  never 
saw  an  opera.  I  had  every  influence  for  good,  yet  in  spite  of 
all  this  I  was  missing  the  greatest  and  best  thing  in  life. 

''Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  came  to  my  home  town 
of  Bendigo  in  June.  Prior  to  their  coming  a  committee  of  the 
Mission  came  to  me,  and  asked  if  I  would  not  help  in  the 
meetings  by  playing  the  piano  a  part  of  the  time.  I  was  not 
interested  in  evangelistic  meetings;  indeed,  I  was  rather 
opposed  to  them,  but  the  thought  struck  me,  that  perhaps  my 
good  father  and  mother  would  be  pleased  if  I  took  part  in 
these  meetings,  and  I  consented.  I  hadn't  been  in  the  first 
meeting  ten  minutes  before  I  found  it  was  going  to  be 
decidedly  warm,  much  warmer  than  I  had  expected. 


48       Twice  Around  thi:  Wori.d  With  Ai^exandkr 

''Mr.  Alexander  announced  Hymn  No.  7,  and  I  was  soon 
playing  a  two-line  hymn,  with  an  old  Southern  melody.  I  was 
not  deeply  interested,  and  played  it  in  an  offhand  way. 
In  playing  through  the  'Glory  Song,'  when  I  came  to  the  chorus, 
I  closed  the  book ;  I  had  memorized  it  quickly  and  improvised 
an  accompaniment  to  the  chorus  to  try  to  displease  Mr. 
Alexander;  but,  instead  of  displeasing  him,  he  turned  around 
and  looked  at  me  and  said,  'Keep  it  up.  Keep  it  up.  That  is 
what  we  want.'  So  I  kept  on.  The  next  time  we  had  the 
chorus  I  played  a  full  octave  accompaniment,  thinking  he 
would  surely  be  upset,  but  he  was  not  there  to  be  upset.  At 
the  close  of  the  meeting  Dr.  Torrey  asked  me  if  I  was  a 
Christian.  I  straightened  up  and  said,  'No,  I  am  here  to  play 
the  piano.'  Dr.  Torrey  left  me  and  went  away,  to  pray  for 
me — I  think. 

"The  meetings  went  on  and  every  day  they  got  warmer, 
and  every  day  I  got  more  uncomfortable.  I  knew  there  were 
people  praying  for  me.  I  had  sisters  that  loved  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  I  knew  that  they,  as  well  as  my  parents  and 
some  of  my  brothers,  were  praying  that  I  might  be  led  to  a 
decision. 

"The  meetings  closed  on  a  Friday  night,  and  I  went  to  Mr. 
Alexander  to  bid  him  good-bye.  He  said,  'Don't  say  good- 
bye ;  come  and  see  me  to-morrow  morning.'  I  began  to  make 
excuses,  Saturday  was  a  busy  day  and  I  would  not  have 
any  time  and  so  on.  But  he  insisted,  and  I  agreed  to  spend 
a  few  minutes  with  him  on  Saturday  morning.  When  I  went 
in  next  day  he  put  me  in  the  most  comfortable  chair  in  the 
room,  in  front  of  a  nice  coal  fire ;  it  was  June,  and  winter- 
time in  our  country.    He  began  to  talk;  and  presently,  after 


The;  R£:vivaIv  in  Austrai^ia 


49 


leading  up  to  it  he  said,  'You  ought  to  accept  Jesus  Christ 
and  become  an  out-and-out  Christian.  Why  don't  you  settle 
the  matter  right  now?'  I  knew  the  Way  of  Life,  my  mother 
had  taken  care  of  that ;  I  knew  my  Bible,  but  I  was  hardening 
my  heart  against  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  that  I  would  not  yield,  and  I  steeled  myself  against  all 
his  appeals.  After  the  few  minutes  had  stretched  into  about 
an  hour  and  a  half  a  member  of  the  committee  came  in  and 
asked  Mr.  Alexander  to  go  for  a  drive;  and  to  my  relief  he 
agreed  to  go. 

THE  KEY  TO  A  MUSICIAN'S  HEART 

''We  started  down  the  steps,  and  as  we  walked  down,  he 
put  his  arm  over  my  shoulder,  but  said  nothing.  I  could  not 
understand  that — why  he  put  his  arm  around  me.  I  did  not 
want  to  turn  and  look  at  him,  but  I  looked  out  of  the  corner 
of  my  eye  and  I  saw  he  had  his  head  down.  All  of  a  sudden 
it  dawned  on  me  that  perhaps  he  loved  me.  I  began  to  feel 
that  this  man  whom  I  had  known  for  only  a  few  days  really 
loved  me.  We  got  to  the  cab  and  I  put  out  my  hand  to  say  good- 
bye when  he  said,  'Don't  say  good-bye,  I  w^ant  you  to  come  to 
Maryborough  with  me.  Join  me  at  the  train  this  afternoon.' 
They  were  going  to  hold  a  short  Mission  at  Maryborough, 
sixty  miles  away.  Without  thinking  I  replied,  'All  right, 
I  will  go 

"He  drove  around  the  corner  in  the  cab,  and  I  got  on  my 
bicycle  to  ride  home,  and  as  I  rode  along  I  began  to  think 
over  what  I  had  done. I  had  never  come  to  the  point  of  actual 
belief ;  but  that  morning  on  the  bicycle  I  accepted  Jesus  Christ 
as  my  personal  Saviour.    That  afternoon  I  joined  the  evange- 


50       TwicK  Around  the:  World  With  Alexander 

lists,  and  we  conducted  missions  throughout  Australia  and 
Tasmania. 

'Xater  on  we  went  to  New  Zealand,  and  it  was  there  that 
I  experienced  what  was,  after  my  conversion,  the  greatest 
blessing  of  my  life.  I  had  been  in  the  meetings  about  four 
months.  We  were  in  a  town  at  the  south  end  of  New  Zealand, 
and  they  had  a  half  night  of  prayer;  and  there  the  question 
came  home  to  me — 'Are  you  fully  surrendered  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  I  knew  I  was  not,  but  I  decided  then  and  there 
that  I  would  hand  my  life  over  to  him.  Then  it  was  that  I 
received  power  in  my  work;  then  it  was  that  I  received  the 
joy  that  the  believer  can  have ;  and  then  it  was  that  I  decided 
to  go  wherever  the  Lord  would  lead  me ;  and  do  what  he  would 
have  me  do ;  and  be  what  he  would  have  me  be." 

Mr,  Harkness  has  since  achieved  international  fame  as  a 
composer  of  Gospel  hymns  as  well  as  a  pianist.  He  has  writ- 
ten some  of  the  most  popular  hymns  used  by  Mr.  Alexander. 
Among  the  best  known  are :  ''Is  He  Yours  "No  Burdens 
Yonder,"  "Oh,  What  a  Change,"  "He  Will  Hold  Me  Fast," 
"Bearing  His  Cross,"  "The  Crown  of  Thorns." 

AN  ENTHUSIASTIC  RECEPTION 

In  response  to  my  request  for  a  few  of  the  most  striking 
incidents  which  occured  during  their  journey  throughout  Aus- 
tralia, Tasmania  and  New  Zealand,  Mr.  Alexander  said : 

"Everywhere  the  'Glory  Song'  preceded  us.  Our  reception 
by  the  warm-hearted  people  was  enthusiastic  in  the  extreme. 
In  Ballarat  Dr.  Torrey  denounced  dancing  so  strongly  that  a 
storm  of  opposition  was  raised.  As  a  result  he  was  invited 
by  a  dancing  club  to  visit  one  of  their  dances  and  see  if  there 


The  Revival  in  Austrai^ia 


51 


was  anything  objectionable  in  it.  They  did  not  think  he 
would  come,  but  he  went,  watched  them  for  a  few  moments, 
and  the  dancers  quickly  stopped  in  confusion.  Dr.  Torrey 
then  preached  them  a  sermon  which  broke  up  the  dance;  and 
the  club  went  to  pieces  afterwards,  only  one  more  dance  being 
held  after  that  night.  This  caused  a  stir  on  the  dancing  ques- 
tion throughout  Australia. 

''In  connection  with  the  Sydney  campaign,  two  very  inter- 
esting incidents  stand  out  very  clearly  in  my  memory.  One 
of  the  biggest,  finest-looking  Salvation  Army  men  I  ever  saw 
was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Miller.  I  always  enjoyed  seeing 
him  come  into  our  meetings.  He  would  often  speak  in  the 
open  air  on  the  outside,  for  the  building  was  never  large 
enough  for  the  crowds.  We  had  two  brass  bands — one  on 
the  inside  and  one  on  the  outside — to  accompany  the  people 
in  singing  Gospel  hymns.  One  after  another,  preachers  and 
Salvation  Army  men,  would  address  the  outside  audience. 
One  night  this  big  Salvationist  got  up,  and  in  his  talk  to  the 
people  said:  'Before  I  gave  my  heart  to  God  I  weighed  ten 
stone ;  I  had  poor  health  and  no  peace  in  my  soul.  But  since 
I  gave  my  heart  to  God  I  have  had  peace  in  my  heart  and 
health  in  my  body,  and  now  I  weigh  fifteen  stone  (210  pounds) 
and  every  pound  saved,  praise  the  Lord !' 

A  MARVELOUS  RESCUE 

"One  night  while  the  open-air  meeting  was  going  on  and 
the  brass  band  was  playing,  people  were  going  to  the  big 
Town  Hall.  A  poor  Finnish  girl  walking  the  street  saw  the 
people  going  in,  and  thought  it  was  a  concert  hall.  She  went 
in  and  sat  down.    She  could  not  understand  much  English. 


52      TwicK  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


We  were  singing,  'There's  Not  a  Friend  Like  the  Lowly 
Jesus/  When  we  came  to  the  chorus  she  could  understand  the 
first  line : 

'Jesus  knows  all  about  our  struggles'; 
She  could  not  appreciate  the  second  line: 

He  will  guide  till  the  day  is  done'; 

But  she  understood  the  last  words : 

'There's  not  a  friend  like  the  lowly  Jesus, 
No  not  one;  no  not  one.' 

"And  it  began  to  dawn  upon  her  that  Jesus  was  the  Friend 
of  sinners.  Over  and  over  again  the  chorus  rang  out: 
'There's  not  a  Friend  like  the  Lowly  Jesus/  and  it  sank 
deeply  into  her  soul.  This  girl  had  run  away  from  a  good 
home  in  Finland,  had  landed  in  Sydney,  but  was  unable  to 
speak  a  word  of  English.  The  first  day  she  had  walked  about 
trying  to  find  a  place,  and  at  night  she  had  walked  up  to  the 
door  of  a  residence  and  rung  the  bell  to  see  if  anyone  could 
help  her.  It  so  happened  that  the  owner  of  the  house  could 
speak  a  language  she  understood,  and  he  gave  her  shelter 
and  got  her  a  position. 

''But  little  by  little,  without  the  restraint  of  home  life,  her 
companions  led  her  into  sin,  and  this  night  found  her  one  of 
the  poor  outcasts  of  the  city.  A  worker  happened  to  come  to 
her  during  the  service  and  told  her  the  story  of  Jesus  and  His 
love,  and  how  she  could  have  him  in  her  heart.  She  accepted 
him.  I  saw  her  that  night  and  succeeding  nights.  A  kind 
woman  secured  her  another  position;  and  the  change  that 
came  into  her  face  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  I  have 
ever  seen.  It  had  the  sweetness  and  peace  of  heaven  in  it. 
Night  by  night  she  would  go  out  and  find  other  girls,  who  had 


The  Revival,  in  Australia 


55 


been  her  companions  in  sin,  and  bring  them  to  the  workers, 
and  ask  them  in  her  broken  language  to  tell  them  the  story  of 
Jesus.  In  this  way  she  had  the  joy  of  leading  many  of  her 
former  associates  to  Christ. 

''We  went  to  Tasmania  for  two  campaigns — Launceston  and 
Hobart.  They  call  the  island  'Little  England.'  In  climate 
and  appearance  it  is  very  much  like  England.  Crowds  taxed 
the  largest  buildings  we  could  secure,  and,  as  everywhere  else, 
people  were  eager  to  hear  the  Gospel.  I  remember  one  night, 
after  the  after-meeting  was  over.  Dr.  Torrey  called  on  me  to 
sing  a  solo — a  thing  he  did  not  usually  do,  for  I  had  already 
sung  once  that  evening,  but  the  people  didn't  want  to  go 
home.  I  caught  up  my  song-book  and  sang,  'Where  is  My 
Wandering  Boy  To-night?'  A  poor  drunken  fellow  had  just 
stepped  in  from  the  far  door,  150  feet  away  from  me.  He 
could  scarcely  stand  up.  He  had  heard  nothing  of  the  ser- 
mon, but  just  caught  the  strain  of 

^Go  for  my  wandering  boy  to-night, 

Go  search  for  him  where  you  will ; 
And  bring  him  to  me  with  all  his  blight, 

And  tell  him  I  love  him  still' 

"He  said,  'That's  for  me,'  and  started  down  the  aisle,  and 
came  to  the  front  with  a  worker,  and  gave  his  heart  to  God. 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  A  PUGILIST 

"One  night,  in  the  same  building,  the  champion  heavy- 
weight pugilist  of  Tasmania,  Jim  Burke,  and  a  member  of 
the  Tasmanian  Parliament  confessed  Christ  at  the  same  time. 
In  a  letter  to  a  friend  some  time  after  his  conversion  Mr. 
Burke  wrote :  'I  have  won  the  biggest  fight  I  ever  had.  I 


56      Twic^  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

have  in  my  time  won  many  great  victories,  but  the  greatest 
victory  I  ever  won  was  when  I  beat  the  devil.'  " 

The  work  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  in  New 
Zealand  was,  if  anything,  more  successful  than  the  campaigns 
in  Australia  and  Tasmania.  Their  tour  throughout  the  coun- 
try was  in  the  nature  of  a  triumphal  progress  from  one  city 
to  another.  The  fame  of  their  work  had  preceded  them ;  and 
they  were  everywhere  w^elcomed  with  open  arms.  Describing 
some  of  his  experiences,  Mr.  Alexander  said : 

''Before  leaving  Melbourne,  w^e  had  received  a  warm  wel- 
come by  wire  from  the  Mayor  of  Wellington,  New  Zealand, 
inviting  us  to  hold  a  campaign  there.  We  spent  thirty  days  in 
New  Zealand,  and  it  constituted  some  of  the  most  profitable 
work  I  think  we  have  ever  done ;  the  power  of  God  was  with  us 
from  the  first  day  to  the  last.  People  came  from  long  dis- 
tances to  attend  our  meetings.  They  carried  the  fire  into  the 
country  districts  and  into  the  country  churches.  The  songs 
became  popular  immediately,  and  helped  the  revival  to  spread. 
Although  we  could  conduct  crusades  in  only  three  of  the 
largest  cities  of  the  country,  the  smaller  towns  would  telegraph 
ahead  of  us,  begging  us  to  conduct  brief  open-air  services  at 
the  stations  during  the  few  minutes  that  the  trains  stopped. 
We  told  them  that  if  they  would  secure  a  piano  on  a  dray,  and 
have  it  handy  where  we  could  step  out  from  the  train,  we 
would  sing  a  verse,  and  Dr.  Torrey  would  speak  a  few  words 
to  them.  I  remember  on  one  trip  we  have  had  seven  of  these 
meetings  between  cities.  At  one  place  a  crowd  of  two  thou- 
sand persons  had  assembled  at  the  station.  One  man  came  a 
hundred  miles  to  be  present  at  one  of  those  ten-minute  ser- 
vices.   We  had  thousands  of  hymn  sheets  ready  which  we 


The  Re:vivai,  in  Australia 


57 


would  throw  out  broadcast  over  the  audience.  The  pianist, 
Mr.  Harkness,  would  be  ready  to  jump  as  the  train  slowed  up, 
strike  the  first  chords,  and  the  people  would  gather  around 
the  piano.  Then  I  would  mount  the  platform  and  sing  a 
verse,  and  by  this  time  Dr.  Torrey  would  be  ready,  and  make 
some  telling  points.  It  warmed  one^s  heart  to  see  the  eager- 
ness with  which  they  drank  in  every  word  of  song  and  sermon. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  ENGINEER 

"One  day  we  noticed  while  traveling  between  Christchurch 
and  Dunedin  that  we  were  permitted  to  stop  longer  at  the  sta- 
tions than  the  schedule  allowed.  This  surprised  us  at  first, 
until  one  of  the  train  men  gave  us  the  secret  of  it,  saying  that 
the  engine  driver  on  the  train  was  a  Christian  man,  and  was 
making  up  time  between  stations  in  order  that  we  might  have 
more  time  to  speak  and  sing.  I  wrote  in  one  of  my  song 
books,  'To  the  engine  driver  with  my  love.  Charles  M.  Alex- 
ander' ;  and  sent  it  down  to  him.  The  next  Sunday  afternoon 
at  the  men's  meeting  a  big  grimy  fellow  came  up  and  looked 
me  full  in  the  face — he  didn't  say  a  word,  but  held  up  his 
song  book,  open  at  the  fly  leaf.  I  knew  who  he  was,  and  had 
a  chance  of  thanking  him  and  shaking  his  hand." 

The  report  of  the  wonderful  work  of  the  American 
evangelists  in  the  three  countries  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere 
had  spread  throughout  Christendom,  and  before  their  cam- 
paign was  concluded  they  had  received  urgent  invitations  to 
conduct  revival  campaigns  in  England.  Having,  however,  a 
desire  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  India,  on  their  way,  they  sailed 
for  Ceylon.  The  voyage  was  a  very  enjoyable  one,  and  greatly 
benefited  both  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander. 


58 


Twicl:  Around  thk  \\''ori.d  With  Ai.j:xande:r 


DR.  TORREY  AND  MR.  ALEXANDER  REACH  INDIA 

On  reaching  India,  the  evangehsts  spent  about  six  weeks 
conducting  campaigns  in  IMadura,  Madras,  Calcutta,  Bombay 
and  Benares.  Wherever  they  went  they  were  received  with 
open  arms  by  the  missionaries  and  native  Christians,  and  their 
crusade  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  hundreds  of  men,  women 
and  children.  Especially  to  the  missionaries  their  visit  brought 
new  life  and  new  encouragement.  The  evangelists'  faith  in 
God,  and  his  remarkable  answers  to  prayers,  and  the  reports 
of  their  wonderful  revival  campaigns  in  Australia  stimulated 
every  missionary  to  fresh  enthusiasm  in  soul-winning.  Mr. 
Alexander  took  with  him  a  thousand  hymn  books  to  use  in 
their  meetings  during  the  Indian  tour  ;  and  was  accompanied  by 
his  pianist,  ^Ir.  Harkness.  It  was  inspiration  to  see  how  the 
natives  of  India  caught  up  the  melodies  of  the  new  Gospel 
songs.    In  speaking  of  their  audiences  ^Ir.  Alexander  said : 

''To  see  the  ^Mohammedans  and  the  Parsees,  the  Hindus  and 
the  Buddhists,  sitting  in  our  meetings,  each  one  with  his  red 
hymn  book,  and  joining  in  the  Gospel  songs,  was  a  beautiful 
sight.  It  was  difficult  to  make  them  sing,  sometimes,  but  it 
was  well  worth  the  effort.  The  missionaries  welcomed  the 
new  songs  and  the  inspiring  accompaniments  of  ^Ir,  Hark- 
ness which  carried  gladness  into  many  homes  and  mission 
houses.  I  distribtited  hundreds  of  the  song  book  to  mission- 
aries at  out-of-the-way  stations ;  and  now  the  songs  of  praise 
rise  from  thousands  of  dusky-faced  Christians  throughout 
India.  At  one  orphanage  I  visited  they  had  the  children  lined 
up  in  rows,  and  gave  me  a  surprise  by  having  them  all  sing 
the  'Sunbeam  Song.'  Less  than  a  year  before  these  children 
had  been  rescued  from  starvation  in  a  famine  distrigt. 


V 


OPENING  OF  THE  ENGLISH  CAMPAIGN 

When  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  reached  England,  they 
were  practically  unknown.  Dr.  Torrey  had  been  there  once 
before,  twenty  years  previous;  but  he  came  on  that  occasion 
as  an  observer,  and  not  as  a  teacher.  It  was  Mr.  Alexander's 
first  visit.  In  a  certain  degree,  however,  they  did  not  come  as 
strangers,  for  the  reports  of  what  God  had  accomplished 
through  them  in  Australia  had  filled  Christian  hearts  with  joy; 
and  had  led  them  to  hope  and  pray  for  a  similar  work  of 
grace  in  the  British  Isles. 

Upon  their  arrival  in  London,  a  great  welcome  meeting  was 
held  in  Exeter  Hall  which  had  been  arranged  by  cablegram 
while  the  evangelists  were  still  in  Bombay.  It  was  a  memor- 
able gathering.  Mr.  T.  A.  Denny  presided.  Among  those 
present  were  Lord  Kinnaird,  Lord  Radstock,  Prebendary 
Webb-Peploe,  Dr.  J.  Munro  Gibson,  Dr.  Barnardo,  Rev.  S.  P. 
Webster,  Dr.  Harry  Guinness,  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  Rev.  Thomas 
Spurgeon,  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  Rev.  Thomas  Champness,  Mr. 
Eugene  Stock,  Mr.  R.  C.  Morgan,  and  many  other  well-known 
religious  leaders. 

LORD  KINNAIRD'S  WELCOME 

In  his  address  of  welcome  Lord  Kinnaird  said :  "We  have 
been  looking  forward  to  your  presence.  We  have  heard  what 
you  have  been  doing  in  Australia  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
world ;  and  we  pray  our  Heavenly  Father  that,  through  you. 


62       Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  AivExandkr 

there  may  be  such  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  we  have 
not  seen  for  years.  We  will  follow  you  with  our  prayers,  and 
look  forward  to  the  hour  when  you  will  be  back  in  London. 
Most  heartily  do  we  welcome  you  this  evening.'' 

Following  the  welcome  meeting,  the  evangelists  spent  three 
weeks  in  Mildmay  Conference  Hall,  North  London,  stirring 
up  church  members  to  fresh  zeal  in  soul  winning,  and  witness- 
ing a  large  number  of  conversions.  At  the  close  of  their 
work  there  was  a  prophecy  of  the  great  and  glorious  work 
which  they  were  later  to  accomplish  in  London — they  received  a 
cordial  invitation  to  visit  Edinburgh  for  a  four  weeks'  cam- 
paign. Their  meetings  were  held  in  Synod  Hall,  which 
proved  too  small  to  accommodate  the  thousands  who  pressed 
to  hear  the  evangelists. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  revival  campaign  conducted  by 
Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  throughout  the  provincial  cities 
of  England,  Ireland,  Scotland  and  Wales,  which  was  without 
precedent  since  the  great  work  of  Moody  and  Sankey  in 
i873-'75.  Wherever  they  went — to  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  Aber- 
deen and  Dundee  in  Scotland;  to  Dublin  and  Belfast  in  Ire- 
land ;  to  Liverpool,  Manchester  and  Birmingham  in  England — 
the  largest  halls  were  unable  to  accomodate  the  thousands  who 
daily  thronged  to  hear  them. 

The  success  of  the  evangelists'  work  was  due  to  their  faith 
in  God,  their  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  for  results, 
their  zeal  in  soul-winning,  and  last,  but  not  least,  to  the  organ- 
ization of  thousands  of  'Trayer  Circles"  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom  to  implore  God  for  a  world-wide  spiritual  awakening, 
and  to  pray  for  the  work  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander. 

When  asked  to  relate  some  narratives  of  striking  con- 


Opening  oi^  the  Engush  Campaign  63 


versions  which  had  occured  during  their  early  work  in  Great 
Britain,  Mr.  Alexander  kindly  consented  and  gave  me  the 
following  stories  of  remarkable  transformations  through  the 
power  of  the  Gospel : 

TWO  TRANSFORMED  LIVES 

''A  young  lady  attended  our  meetings  in  St.  Andrews  Hall, 
Glasgow,  who  had  been  assisting  her  elder  sister  with  her  busi- 
ness. For  years  she  had  received  nothing  but  her  expenses 
for  her  work.  She  felt  that  she  should  receive  more  than  that ; 
and  had  systematically  slipped  a  certain  amount  from  the 
till  each  week  and  put  it  in  the  bank  until  she  had  stolen  $650. 
The  Spirit  of  God  touched  her  one  night  in  the  meeting,  and 
revealed  her  sinful  heart.  She  accepted  Christ,  went  home 
and  handed  her  bank  book  to  her  sister,  telling  her  that  the 
amount  in  the  bank  had  been  stolen  from  the  business,  and 
asked  her  forgiveness  which  was  immediately  given.  The 
sister,  who  had  been  cold  in  the  Lord's  service,  was  led  to 
deep  consecration  through  the  act;  it  touched  the  entire  com- 
munity, and  many  others  were  led  to  Christ  through  this 
restitution. 

''While  we  were  in  Belfast  Dr.  Harry  Guinness  assisted  us 
with  the  overflow  meetings.  We  had  two  large  churches, 
which  were  packed  night  after  night,  until  at  last  we  had  to 
take  St.  George's  Market,  which  held  7,000  people.  There 
we  saw  some  wonderful  displays  of  God's  power.  I  remember 
one  broad-faced  Irishman,  called  'Billy',  who  was  very  earnest 
in  dealing  with  drunkards  that  came  to  the  front.  He  had 
been  converted  in  gaol  one  day  when  Sankey  was  singing 
'Hold  the  Fort.'   The  words  came  across  from  another  build- 


64       Twice  Around        World  With  Alj:xander 

ing  to  the  open  window  of  his  cell,  and  he  was  led  to  Christ 
through  them. 

''I  well  recollect  our  last  meeting  in  Belfast  when  about  five 
hundred  people  Game  to  Christ.  Dr.  Torrey  was  appealing  to 
those  to  come  forward  who  would  accept  Jesus  Christ,  and 
'Billy'  was  down  at  the  front  dealing  with  some  man.  In  the 
midst  of  the  invitation  he  jumped  up,  turned  to  the  audience 
and  shouted,  'Why  don't  ye  come  to  Jesus  ?  Pwhat  har-r-rm's 
he  ever  done  ye?'  Later  in  the  meeting,  when  about  to  close, 
Dr.  Torrey  made  the  statement,  as  he  addressed  the  new  con- 
verts that  never  in  his  life  had  he  felt  so  reluctant  to  leave  a 
city  as  he  had  to  leave  Belfast.  Billy  jumped  up  again  and 
cried,  'Nobody's  a-chasin  ye  away!' 

BELFAST'S  FAREWELL 

"As  we  took  the  steamer  on  our  last  day  in  Belfast,  the 
street  was  packed  solid  with  people  right  across  in  front 
of  the  quay.  The  Salvation  Army  Brass  Band  led  the  music; 
and,  using  a  large  box  for  a  platform,  I  conducted  the  whole 
street  full  of  people  in  singing  song  after  song.  Dr.  Torrey 
said  a  few  words,  and  then  made  an  appeal  for  converts  right 
in  the  street.  Some  laboring  men  coming  home,  all  grimy 
from  their  work,  with  their  buckets  on  their  arms,  accepted  his 
invitation  and  publicly  confessed  Christ. 

"Our  choir  was  by  the  ship's  side,  and  as  we  left  the  dock 
they  sang,  'God  Be  With  You  Till  We  Meet  Again/  while  I 
directed  them  from  the  upper  deck  with  a  handkerchief.  For 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  up  the  docks  people  were  strung  along 
in  great  numbers,  waving  and  singing  'Never  Lose  Sight  of 
Jesus/   The  people  on  board  said  they  had  never  seen  such  a 


Opening  of  the  Engi^ish  Campaign  67 

beautiful  sight  as  those  thousands  of  people  gathered  on  the 
shore,  bidding  us  good-bye  with  a  Gospel  song.  The  Captain 
sent  a  man  to  us,  asking  if  he  should  blow  the  whistle.  We 
said,  'Yes' ;  so  while  the  handkerchiefs  were  waving  and  the 
people  were  singing  the  whistle  began  to  blow  and  that  was 
our  affectionate  'good-bye'  to  Belfast.'' 

At  the  conclusion  of  their  work  in  Ireland  Dr.  Torrey  and 
Mr.  Alexander  made  a  flying  visit  to  America  during  July  and 
August,  1903,  where  they  addressed  numerous  conventions  and 
religious  conferences,  and  stirred  up  the  people  with  their 
glorious  reports  of  the  revival  campaigns  in  Australia  and 
Great  Britain. 

CHICAGO'S  WELCOME 

The  most  notable  meeting  held  during  their  stay  in  America 
was  the  great  Welcome  Meeting  in  the  Auditorium  in  Chicago. 
The  scenes  enacted  at  that  memorable  meeting  were  impres- 
sive, and  long  to  be  remembered.  Although  the  service  was 
timed  to  commence  at  eight  o'clock,  long  before  that  hour  thou- 
sands of  people  stood  four  deep  in  the  street,  waiting  for  the 
doors  to  be  opened.  It  is  estimated  that  ten  thousand  people 
endeavored  to  gain  admission  to  the  huge  building. 

One  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Chicago,  Hon.  Luther  Laflin 
Mills  presided;  and  in  his  address  of  welcome  said:  "Dr. 
Torrey  has  returned  to  us  a  conquering  hero,  home  from  that 
holiest  of  wars,  the  battle  for  the  redemption  and  uplifting  of 
men's  souls.  He  has  been  recognized  in  every  civilized  land, 
and  in  China,  Japan,  India  and  Hawaii  for  his  work  and  worth 
as  the  real  successor  of  Moody,  and  as  such  we  give  him  wel- 
come.   With  him  comes  Charles  M.  Alexander,  the  sweet 


68       Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

singer,  whose  music  has  set  half  the  world  to  singing,  and  the 
echoes  of  which  still  linger  to-day  in  the  hearts  and  memories 
of  many  peoples  in  many  lands." 

In  his  conduct  of  the  musical  part  of  the  program  Mr.  Alex- 
ander quickly  captivated  the  great  American  audience  as  he 
had  done  similar  audiences  in  Australia,  India  and  the  United 
Kingdom ;  and  soon  they  were  singing  his  revival  melodies  as 
only  Americans  can  sing  when  aroused  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
enthusiasm.  The  meeting  was  especially  noticeable  by  reason 
of  one  woman  who  sat  in  a  box  that  night.  She  was  a  little, 
sweet-faced  lady  who  had  come  all  the  way  from  Tennessee, 
to  hear  her  son  sing  before  the  great  audience  gathered  in  the 
Auditorium.  It  was  the  first  time  she  had  seen  him  in  so  large 
a  gathering;  and  the  tears  glistened  in  her  fond  eyes  as  the 
roars  of  applause  broke  once  and  again  over  her  boy's  head. 
She  was  Mrs.  Alexander,  and  her  son  was  the  sweet-voiced 
baritone  who  had  girdled  the  globe  with  Gospel  song. 


VI 


"TELL  MOTHER  FLL  BE  THERE" 

In  September,  1903,  the  evangelists  returned  to  England; 
and  began  a  four  weeks'  campaign  in  Liverpool,  v^hich  proved 
to  be  the  most  successful  held  up  to  that  time  in  Great  Britain. 
About  5,000  converts  w^ere  recorded.  Such  crov\rds  flocked  to 
the  Philharmonic  Hall,  where  the  meetings  were  held,  that 
towards  the  close  of  the  mission  it  was  necessary  to  hold  double 
meetings  each  night,  the  first  being  for  women,  the  second  for 
men.  While  the  first  service  was  in  progress  thousands  would 
be  clamoring  at  the  door  for  admittance.  People  would  stand 
four  deep  for  an  hour,  all  along  the  sides  of  the  building,  in 
the  rain,  waiting  for  an  entrance,  and  as  they  waited  they 
sang  revival  hymns.  Mr.  Alexander  told  me  a  characteristic 
incident  which  occured  one  day  among  those  waiting  for 
admission. 

*'One  night,''  said  he,  ''after  the  notice  was  put  up  'Hall 
Full,'  great  crowds  still  hung  around  the  doors.  Mr.  Arm- 
strong, a  city  missionary,  went  out  and  said  to  the  crowd,  'The 
Hall  is  full;  why  don't  you  go  home?'  One  lady  standing 
near  him  said,  'Please,  sir,  we  are  waiting  for  somebody  to 
faint,'  He  said,  'Surely  you  don't  want  anyone  to  faint,  do 
you?  'No,'  she  said,  'but  they  do  faint  in  there  sometimes,  and 
l  am  waiting  until  somebody  does,  so  that  I  can  get  their  seat.' 
Her  earnestness  excited  his  curiosity,  and  he  inquired  if  she 
was  a  Christian.    She  replied  she  was  not.    'Well,'  said  he,'  I 


70       TwicK  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

can  probably  get  you  in  at  the  back  door.'  He  succeeded,  and 
she  Hstened  to  the  sermon.  In  the  after-meeting  he  noticed 
that  that  woman  was  one  of  the  first  to  come  down  to  the 
front  seats  and  pubHcly  confess  her  acceptance  of  Christ. 

THE  SONG  THAT  TOUCHED  ALL  HEARTS 

''Our  last  Sunday  in  Philharmonic  Hall  was  one  of  the  most 
memorable  days  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  our  work/'  con- 
tinued Mr.  Alexander.  ''We  were  to  have  a  women's  meeting 
in  the  afternoon  and  a  men's  meeting  at  night.  I  had  been 
praying  earnestly  before  going  to  the  women's  meeting  in  the 
afternoon  that  God  would  lead  me  to  the  very  song  that  would 
melt  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  lead  them  to  Christ.  I  was 
very  much  in  doubt  during  the  first  part  of  the  song  service 
what  song  to  use.  At  last  I  threw  the  meeting  open,  and  asked 
anyone  to  suggest  a  song  that  had  helped  them.  A  lady  imme- 
diately mentioned  No.  13,  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There.'  Directly 
she  announced  it  I  felt  that  that  was  the  song  we  needed.  We 
began  singing  it;  and  it  took  a  wonderful  hold  upon  the 
audience.  I  felt  that  the  Lord  was  there,  and  at  the  close  of 
Dr.  Torrey's  sermon,  when  he  gave  out  the  invitation,  two 
hundred  and  ten  women  came  down  to  the  front  and  publicly 
confessed  Christ.  I  said  to  the  women,  'I  have  a  curiosity  to 
know  how  many  of  you  were  led  to  Christ  by  the  singing  of 
"Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There."  Will  those  who  were  please 
rise?"  And  thirty-three  women  out  of  the  two  hundred  and 
ten  stood  up. 

"When  it  came  to  the  men's  meeting  at  night,  we  had  a 
choir  of  five  hundred  men.  I  believe  everyone  of  them  was  an 
earnest  Christian.    After  we  had  sung  a  little  I  told  the 


''Tnhh  Mothe:r  Tli,  Bk  Thiers:''  71 

audience  what  had  happened  in  the  afternoon ;  and  said  that  we 
ought  to  have  three  times  as  many  men  yielding  themselves 
to  God  during  the  singing  of  the  hymn.  I  then  turned  to  the 
choir  and  said,  'Men,  pray  every  word  you  sing !'  They  sang 
it  together,  and  you  felt  their  hearts  were  behind  it.  You 
could  feel  that  the  hearts  of  the  men  in  the  audience  were 
melting  like  wax.  During  the  song  I  made  a  call  for  those 
who  would  accept  Christ  and  confess  him  publicly  before  the 
audience  to  stand  up  then  and  there.  They  started  to  stand 
up ;  we  would  sing  another  verse  and  they  would  begin  to  rise 
up  again.  Presently  I  called  up  a  little  curly-headed  boy,  and 
stood  him  upon  the  stand  beside  me,  and  he  sang  a  verse 
which  seemed  to  move  the  men  more  deeply  than  ever.  When 
the  song  ended  one  hundred  and  sixty  men  had  risen  and  pub- 
licly professed  their  acceptance  of  Christ.  Spontaneously  the 
audience  arose  and  sang,  'Praise  God  From  Whom  All  Bless- 
ings Flow.'  Then  Dr.  Torrey  preached  and  repeated  the  invi- 
tation, and  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  including  the  hundred 
and  sixty  who  had  stood  up  before  the  sermon,  publicly 
acknowledged  that  they  had  taken  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
Saviour,  their  Lord  and  their  King.  An  American  consul 
sitting  on  the  platform  near  me  said  that  he  did  not  know  God 
was  working  in  that  way  in  these  days,  and  that  it  was  the 
most  wonderful  sight  he  had  ever  seen." 

Not  only  in  Liverpool,  but  all  throughout  England  this 
touching  hymn  was  used  in  the  conversion  of  many  men  and 
women. 

THE  STING  OF  MEMORY 

Mr.  Alexander  relates  an  interesting  incident  which  occurred 
during  their  campaign  in  Dundee.    ''One  night,  just  as  I  was 


72       Twice  Around  the;  World  With  Ai^exander 

ready  to  retire  in  my  hotel/'  he  says,  ''a  porter  came  up  to  me 
and  said  that  a  gentleman  wanted  to  se  me  in  the  coffee  room. 
I  tried  to  make  an  excuse,  but  the  porter  said  that  the  man 
insisted  that  he  must  see  me.  I  went  down  and  found  a  fine, 
big  Scotch  farmer  sobbing  like  a  child.  I  said,  'What  can  I 
do  for  you?  Are  you  a  Christian  man?'  He  said,  'I  wasn't  a 
Christian  man  till  to-night,  but  I  am  now.  I  listened  to  Dr. 
Torrey's  sermon,  and  withstood  that  and  his  appeal  to  come 
to  Christ ;  but  I  was  standing  during  the  singing  in  the  after- 
meeting,  when  the  choir  struck  up  the  song  'Where  is  My 
Wandering  Boy  To-night  ?'  I  thought  of  my  good  old  father 
who  had  gone  to  heaven  three  years  before,  and  it  touched  my 
heart.  Then  at  the  close  of  the  verse  the  choir  sang  'Tell 
Mother  I'll  Be  There.'  My  dear  old  mother  had  gone  to 
heaven  a  little  while  before,  and  the  memory  of  the  home  life, 
and  of  their  sweet  Christian  lives  was  too  much  for  me.  I 
gave  my  heart  to  God,  and  felt  that  I  could  not  go  home  to- 
night until  I  had  told  you.'  He  said  he  was  going  back  home 
to  start  family  prayers  and  live  a  consecrated  Christian  life. 
Such  experiences  as  this,"  said  Mr.  Alexander,  ''give  one  a 
fresh  and  never-tiring  interest  in  the  work  of  soul  winning." 

During  the  campaign  in  Manchester  a  gentleman  wrote  Mr. 
Alexander  telling  him  how  two  of  his  songs  had  brought 
great  blessing  into  his  life.    His  letter  ran  as  follows : 

"I  came  to  hear  you  last  Monday  night.  I  told  my  wife  I 
was  going,  and  she  was  praying  for  me  all  the  time.  When 
the  hymn  'My  Mother's  Prayer'  was  sung  it  brought  to  my 
memory  the  time  when  my  saintly  mother  passed  away,  and 
when  at  her  bedside  I  knelt  and  promised  to  meet  her  in 
heaven.    This  hymn  broke  me  down,  but  when  the  audience 


Teli.  Mother  l\h  Be  There' 


73 


began  to  sing  'I  Surrender  Air  I  could  not  sing  it.  I  could  not 
surrender  all,  and  so  left  the  meeting;  but  the  idea  of  a  com- 
plete surrender  still  remained  in  my  mind*  I  was  afraid  that 
if  I  surrendered  all  I  would  have  to  give  up  card  playing  and 
theatre  going.  I  felt  that  I  could  not  give  up  those  things. 
On  Sunday  night  I  began  to  read  the  family  Bible,  and  after 
perusing  a  chapter  or  two,  I  sank  on  my  knees,  and  with  my 
wife  at  my  side,  surrendered  all  to  Jesus.  Praise  the  Lord  I 
can  now  say,  'I  surrender  all.'  I  am  taking  him  at  his  word 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  me.'' 

For  a  month  the  evangelists  held  a  campaign  in  Dublin,  in 
the  Metropolitan  Hall^  during  which  about  three  thousand 
persons  publicly  accepted  Christ.  In  recalling  the  work  in  this 
city,  two  touching  incidents  are  related : 

A  BUSINESS  MAN  AND  HIS  MOTHER'S  BIBLE 

**One  night,  while  the  audience  was  singing  *Where  is  My 
Wandering  Boy  To-night,'  a  bright  young  business  man  from 
Glasgow  was  among  the  audience,  and  was  deeply  touched. 
Dr.  Torrey's  straight  dealing  impressed  him  so  much  that  he 
turned  to  a  man  sitting  at  his  side,  and  said,  'That  man  talks 
religion  the  way  I  sell  goods.  I  am  coming  again  to  hear  him 
to-morrow  night.'  He  came  again  the  next  night  with  another 
man,  and  came  out  boldly  for  Christ.  He  wrote  immediately 
to  his  old  mother  in  Scotland,  and  received  in  reply  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  letters  I  have  ever  seen.  He  had  written  to 
her  to  send  on  his  Bible  as  he  had  been  converted.  Many 
times  before  when  he  would  start  off  on  a  trip  she  had  placed 
a  small  Bible  in  his  bag,  but  he  would  hunt  it  out  and  leave  it 
behind.    The  last  time  he  had  left  home  his  mother  said,  'I 


74       Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

won't  put  the  Bible  in  this  time,  but,  if  you  want  it,  write  and 
let  me  know  and  I  w411  send  it  on/  His  dear  old  father  was 
filled  with  rejoicing  at  the  great  news  they  had  just  received. 
Later  the  young  man  went  to  Chicago  to  attend  the  Moody 
Bible  Institute  to  fit  himself  better  for  Christian  work. 

''We  have  always  endeavored  in  our  meetings  to  get  every 
Christian  consecrated,  every  consecrated  person  a  worker,  and 
every  worker  trained  to  work  anywhere  and  everywhere  w^ith 
anybody  at  any  time  or  at  all  times.  After  a  noon-day  meet- 
ing in  Dublin,  a  lady  went  to  a  well  known  restaurant  to  have 
lunch.  She  had  her  red  hymn  book  with  her,  and  laid  it  down 
beside  her  on  the  table.  Another  lady  sitting  close  by  observed 
the  book,  and  entered  into  conversation  with  her.  She  said 
she  was  not  a  Christian,  but  would  like  to  meet  somebody  w4io 
would  explain  to  her  the  Way  of  Life.  The  lady  lovingly  and 
plainly  explained  to  her  the  way,  with  the  result  that  before  she 
left  the  restaurant  the  anxious  one  had  definitely  accepted 
Christ.  A  day  or  two  later  the  Christian  lady  went  into  the 
same  restaurant  and  chanced  to  lay  her  hymn  book  again  upon 
the  table.  A  strange  lady  introduced  herself,  asking  whether 
she  was  not  the  same  woman  who  had  led  a  friend  of  hers  to 
Christ  in  the  same  restaurant.  She  said,  'You  told  my  friend 
the  Way  of  Life.  Can  you  tell  me?'  Gladly  she  pointed  the 
inquirer  to  Christ,  and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  and  joy  of 
knowing  that  she  had  led  another  soul  to  Jesus.'' 

A  CHRISTIAN  CREW 

The  results  of  the  campaigns  conducted  by  the  evangelists 
are  felt  on  the  high  seas  as  well  as  upon  the  land.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Torrey- Alexander  party  was  returning  from  Dublin 


'T^Liv  Mother  ri.i.      Tmm''  77 

to  Liverpool  by  the  steamer  ''Cork."  On  being  shown  to 
his  cabin  he  was  met  by  the  steward,  who  recognized  him  as 
one  of  the  staff,  and  gave  him  a  cordial  welcome.  ''I  am  a 
Christian  also,"  said  the  steward,  ''and  you  are  now  traveling 
on  a  Christian  ship."  The  gentleman  inquired  what  was 
meant,  and  the  steward  explained  that  he  himself  had  been 
converted  at  one  of  the  Torrey- Alexander  meetings  in  Phil- 
harmonic Hall,  Liverpool,  the  previous  September.  Another 
steward  had  been  led  to  Christ  during  their  crusade  in  Dub- 
lin, w4iere  one  or  two  firemen  had  also  found  Jesus  ;  and  now  so 
many  of  the  crew  had  become  Christians  that  the  "Cork"  was 
known  among  the  seamen  as  the  "Christian  Ship." 

At  the  famous  seaside  resort  of  Brighton  the  evangelists 
conducted  a  most  successful  campaign  in  The  Dome,  The 
Pavilion,  The  Corn  Exchange  and  Hove  Town  Hall.  Among 
the  many  beautiful  incidents  which  occurred  there,  the  fol- 
lowing should  be  an  inspiration  to  every  Christian  to  improve 
every  opportunity  of  winning  souls  to  Christ : 

"As  I  was  leaving  Hove  Town  Hall  at  the  close  of  an  after- 
noon meeting,"  said  Mr.  Alexander,  "I  stopped  near  the  door, 
and  a  lady  came  and  asked  to  shake  hands  with  me.  She  said 
her  mother  had  written  to  her,  telling  her  to  come  to  our  meet- 
ings, and  be  sure  to  speak  to  Mr.  Alexander.  I  was  just 
about  to  say  some  commonplace  words  and  bid  her  good-bye 
when  the  thought  came  to  me  to  inquire  if  she  was  a  Christian. 
I  found  she  was  not.  I  pressed  upon  her  the  claims  of  Christ, 
but  she  would  not  accept  them.  I  was  on  the  point  of  leaving 
when  she  said,  turning  to  a  girl  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age 
nearby,  'This  is  my  daughter.'  After  shaking  hands  with  her 
I  said,  'Are  you  a  Christian?'    She  replied,  'No,  I  am  not.'  I 


78       Twice  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

urged  upon  her  the  necessity  of  accepting  Christ,  and  she 
yielded.  All  this  time  her  mother  had  been  standing  at  her 
side,  and  when  the  daughter  yielded  I  turned  to  the  mother 
and  said,  'Surely  you  don't  want  to  be  out  of  Christ  when  your 
daughter  is  a  Christian?'  She  could  not  stand  that  and  she, 
too,  came  to  a  decision  for  Jesus. 

A  MOMENT  TOO  LATE 
One  night  during  the  mission  a  solemn  thing  happened.  A 
Christian  man  went  into  a  restaurant  for  dinner,  and,  as  the 
waiter  served  him,  he  experienced  a  strong  conviction  that  he 
ought  to  speak  to  the  man  about  his  soul.  He  did  not  yield  to 
it,  however,  but  left  the  place  without  referring  to  the  ques- 
tion of  surrender  to  Christ.  But  even  after  he  had  reached 
the  street  the  feeling  returned  with  increased  force;  and  he 
waited  outside  the  restaurant  for  the  waiter  to  come  out.  At 
last,  the  proprietor  commenced  to  close  the  shop,  and  seeing 
this  gentleman  standing  outside  asked  him  what  he  was 
waiting  for.  He  replied  that  he  wanted  to  speak  to  the  waiter 
that  had  served  him.  The  answer  of  the  proprietor  came  like 
a  blow.  ''You  will  never,"  he  said,  "speak  to  that  man  again. 
After  serving  you  he  went  upstairs  and  shot  himself."  When 
this  incident  was  related  in  public  it  produced  a  profound 
impression,  for  it  was  a  solemn  lesson  as  to  the  danger  of 
disobeying  the  promptings  of  the  Spirit,  as  well  as  a  warning 
to  every  Christian  to  be  zealous  in  seeking  the  unsaved. 

INFIDELS  CONVERTED 
During  the  month's  Mission  conducted  by  the  evangelists  in 
Bristol,  four  infidel  members  of  one  family  flung  their  unbelief 


Mother  Ti,!.  Be  There' 


79 


to  the  winds  and  came  out  for  Christ.  There  were  six  sons 
and  one  daughter  in  the  family,  and  all  were  infidels.  The 
father  had  once  been  a  clergyman,  but  had  gone  into  infidelity, 
and  had  brought  up  his  family  to  scofif  at  Christianity — a  step 
which  he  bitterly  regretted  before  he  died. 

During  the  Torrey-Alexander  Mission  an  infidel  lecturer 
from  London  visited  this  family,  in  order  to  get  one  of  the 
young  men  to  go  with  him  to  Coulston  Hall  to  secure  material 
for  jest  and  sport.  When  he  called  everyone  was  out  except 
the  daughter.  She  accompanied  him  to  the  meeting.  It  was 
the  first  time  she  had  ever  attended  a  Gospel  service.  What 
she  heard  so  deeply  impressed  her  that  she  went  again 
alone,  and  was  converted.  It  was  a  bold  step  for  her,  but  a 
bolder  one  was  to  follow.  She  returned  home  and  told  her 
brothers  of  her  decision.  They  were  indignant,  but  she  held 
her  ground.  Finally  she  persuaded  one  of  them  to  go  with  her 
to  another  service.  The  result  was  that  he,  too,  flung  his 
infidelity  to  the  wind  and  accepted  Christ;  and  before  the 
Mission  ended  three  other  members  of  the  same  family  came 
out  for  Christ. 

Numerous  were  the  infidels  laid  hold  of  by  the  power  of 
God  during  the  work  in  Great  Britain  and  saved.  At 
Manchester  Mr.  Musgrave  Reed,  one  of  the  foremost  infidel 
lecturers  in  the  city,  was  converted,  and  has  been  for  some  time 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  India. 


VII 


PENTECOSTAL  BLESSING  AT  BIRMINGHAM 

The  revival  campaign  in  Birmingham  during  January,  1904, 
was  probably  the  most  successful  month's  mission  held  any- 
where in  Great  Britain.  In  that  brief  period  nearly  8,000  men, 
women  and  children  publicly  professed  to  accept  Christ  as 
their  Saviour,  Lord  and  King.  The  meetings  were  held  in 
Bingley  Hall,  one  of  the  finest  auditoriums  in  England.  It 
seats  8,000  people,  with  standing  room  for  2,000  more;  and 
is  so  perfect  in  its  acoustic  properties  that  Mr.  Moody  de- 
clared, after  holding  a  serie:  of  meetings  in  it,  that  he  wished 
he  could  carry  it  about  with  him  wherever  he  went.  From  the 
first  the  meetings  were  wonderfully  successful,  the  crowds 
coming  in  such  throngs  that  it  was  necessary  to  call  the 
mounted  police  in  order  to  prevent  accidents. 

Although  the  meetings  were  so  remarkably  successful,  yet 
they  were  begun  under  greater  physical  disadvantages,  as 
regards  the  evangelists,  than  any  other  series  of  meetings  in 
England.  Mr.  Alexander  had  hardly  recovered  from  an  ill- 
ness, while  Dr.  Torrey  was  still  suffering  from  a  cold  con- 
tracted several  weeks  before.  Dr.  Torrey's  indisposition  was 
so  serious  that  it  was  feared  that  he  would  be  unable  to  con- 
tinue the  meetings.  As  usual,  however,  the  crisis  was  met 
and  conquered  by  prayer.  In  answer  to  my  inquiry,  Mr.  Alex- 
ander told  the  remarkable  narrative  how  God  heard  and 
answered  prayer  for  the  recovery  of  Dr.  Torrey. 


THE  FAREWELL  TO  THE  EVANGELISTS  AT  DUNEDIN,  NEW  ZEALAND 


Pent^costai,  Blessing  at  Birmingham  83 

FERVENT  PRAYERS  ANSWERED 

"I  had  never  seen  Dr.  Torrey  appear  so  physically  weak  as 
during  those  first  days  at  Birmingham,"  declared  Mr.  Alex- 
ander. ''His  voice  seemed  to  be  getting  weaker  and  weaker 
each  day,  and  the  cold  which  he  had  contracted  was  still  hang- 
ing on.  He  had  hoped  that  his  Christmas  vacation  trip  to 
Germany  would  cure  him,  but  he  had  not  found  the  relief  he 
had  expected.  One  Saturday  afternoon  as  we  began  the  meet- 
ing it  seemed  to  me  that  his  voice  would  fail  entirely  before  he 
reached  the  end  of  his  sermon.  On  leaving  the  hall  I  took  a 
cab  and  went  as  fast  as  I  could  to  the  nearest  telegraph  office ; 
and  sent  to  the  Moody  Bible  Institute  in  Chicago  the  following 
cablegram:  Tray  for  Torrey's  voice  and  health.'  I  knew 
that  this  cablegram  would  probably  reach  them  before  their 
Saturday  night  prayer-meeting,  which  still  meets  regularly  to 
pray  for  a  world-wide  revival,  and  has  done  so  ever  since  Dr. 
Torrey  and  his  friends  started  it.  The  cablegram  reached 
them  long  before  the  meeting,  for  Chicago  time  is  six  hours 
later  than  in  London,  and  they  spent  much  time  in  earnest 
prayer  for  th^  recovery  of  Dr.  Torrey's  voice  and  his  health. 

"The  next  morning  when  I  came  down  to  the  early  morning 
service  with  him  he  looked  brighter,  and  his  voice  had  a 
hearty  ring  in  it.  I  asked  him  how  he  felt,  and  he  replied, 
Xast  night  was  the  first  night  I  have  been  able  to  sleep  in  three 
weeks.'  From  that  morning  there  was  striking  improvement 
both  in  his  appearance  and  in  the  ring  of  his  voice.  He  was 
able  to  preach  to  three  large  audiences  nearly  every  day 
throughout  the  month.  A  great  note  of  praise  was  in  my 
heart  for  this  answer  to  prayer,  which  was  one  more  striking 
proof  that  God  hears  and  answers  prayer." 


84       Twice:  Around  th^  Wori.d  With  Ai^exandi^r 

A  FOOTBALL  TEAM  CONVERTED 
Among  the  hundreds  of  striking  incidents  connected  with 
the  great  awakening  in  Birmingham,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able was  the  conversion  of  an  entire  football  team.  One 
Thursday  night  thirteen  members  of  the  club  attended  a  meet- 
ing in  Bingley  Hall;  and  three  of  their  number  stood  up  and 
publicly  accepted  Christ.  So  eager  were  they  to  win  others  to 
their  new-found  Saviour,  that  on  the  following  Saturday,  after 
the  usual  match  had  been  played,  they  insisted  upon  the  whole 
team's  attending  the  evening  meeting.  They  came  directly 
from  the  field  to  the  hall,  each  with  his  handbag,  containing 
his  football  clothes;  and  that  night  several  more  of  the  club 
accepted  Christ.  The  converted  members  then  united  in 
their  efforts ;  and  again  brought  the  unconverted  ones  on  Sun- 
day night.  The  remainder  of  the  unconverted  club  members 
were  then  saved,  making  in  all  twenty-five,  thus  forming  a 
remarkable  ''Christian  football  club''  of  twenty-five  members. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  tributes  to  the  work  of  the 
evangelists  in  Birmingham  was  from  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Jowett,  the 
successor  of  Dr.  Dale  in  Carr's  Lane  Chapel.  Writing  to  an 
English  Journal  regarding  the  movement  he  said : 

''What  has  impressed  me  above  all  things  has  been  the  Mis- 
sioners'  quiet  and  immovable  assurance  of  the  fellowship  of 
God.  Their  communion  with  the  Divine  has  not  been  ostenta- 
tiously declared;  it  has  been  most  powerfully  assumed.  Dr. 
Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  have  come  to  their  meetings  with 
the  fragrance  of  the  Presence  Chamber  round  about  them,  and, 
as  though  it  were  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world,  they 
have  confidently  assumed  the  companionship  of  the  King.  It 
may  appear  to  be  a  very  ordinary  matter  when  thus  recorded  in 


Pkntecostai,  Bi.e:ssing  at  Birmingham  85 

cold  print;  but  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  men  over  whose 
spirits  there  is  no  shadow  of  uncertainty,  and  who  rejoice  in  the 
sun-clear  fellowship  of  the  Eternal,  is  to  be  confronted  with  an 
experience  which  subdues  one  in  most  fruitful  awe.  When 
these  men  speak  of  God's  presence  they  speak  as  those  who 
know. 

''Closely  allied  to  this,  and,  indeed,  part  and  parcel  of  it,  is 
their  clear  and  calm  confidence  in  the  marvelous  ministry  of 
prayer.  Mr.  Alexander's  estimate  of  prayer  is  that  of  a  child ; 
not  that  it  lacks  intelligence,  but  because  it  is  so  filled  with 
sunny  and  unshaken  trust.  He  speaks  of  the  ministry  of 
prayer  as  one  who  speaks  of  sunshine  or  of  fresh  air,  and  he 
exercises  himself  in  it  with  the  same  naturalness  as  one  who 
would  draw  up  the  blind  to  let  in  the  light,  or  open  the  window 
to  let  in  the  air.  The  Missioners'  conception  of  prayer  is  not 
confined  to  the  realm  of  the  spirit ;  its  ministry  pervades  every 
place,  and  is  operative  everywhere.  God  has  privileged  us 
to  commune  with  him  in  matters  directly  affecting  the  body,  as 
well  as  in  the  higher  interests  of  the  soul.  These  men  have 
a  great  treasure  in  God ;  it  is  their  inheritance,  and  they  draw 
upon  it  with  unclouded  assurance  and  serenity.  Again  and 
again  I  was  reminded  of  what  Tennyson  once  said  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Mr.  Gladstone;  Traying  is  to  me  the  opening  of  the 
sluice  gate  between  me  and  the  Infinite.'  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Alexander  lift  that  sluice  gate  with  most  contagious  con- 
fidence, and  the  Divine  power  flows  into  their  spirits  like  a 
river  of  water  of  life. 

"The  Mission  has  fertilized  the  Christian  life  of  the  town. 
Few  will  be  the  churches  which  are  not  enriched  by  its  labors. 
A  wave  of  spiritual  expectancy  has  swept  over  the  city.    I  have 


86 


Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


heard  of  prayer  meetings  in  churches  which  were  fast  dying, 
but  which  have  been  re-created  and  vitaHzed.  Ministers  have 
once  again  had  their  eyes  fixed  upon  their  primary  work. 
Disciples  have  been  won  to  the  Lord  in  thousands.  'It  is  the 
Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes/ 

MR  ALEXANDER'S  WEDDING 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  Birmingham  is  the  home  of  the 
Cadbury  family,  the  famous  philanthropists  and  cocoa  manu- 
facturers. They  are  leaders  in  the  religious  life  of  Birming- 
ham ;  and  they  naturally  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  mission 
campaign  at  Bingley  Hall.  The  present  head  of  the  great 
cocoa  firm,  Mr.  George  Cadbury,  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee which  invited  the  evangelists  to  Birmingham,  and  enter- 
tained them  in  his  home,  while  the  wife  and  daughter  of  his 
elder  brother,  the  late  Mr.  Richard  Cadbury,  were  active 
workers  in  the  meetings. 

While  the  Mission  was  in  progress,  Mr.  Alexander  became 
acquainted  with  Miss  Helen  Cadbury,  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
Richard  Cadbury;  and,  through  their  mutual  interests  in 
saving  the  lost,  the  acquaintance  quickly  ripened  into  love.  It 
may  be  stated,  however,  that  the  event  was  another  of  those  re- 
markable answers  to  prayer  with  which  Mr.  Alexander's  life 
has  been  filled.  Shortly  after  the  Birmingham  campaign  had 
ended,  the  engagement  of  Mr.  Alexander  and  Miss  Cadbury 
w^as  announced.  Their  marriage  took  place  the  following  July 
at  the  Friends'  meeting-house  in  Birmingham.  The  Cad- 
burys  are  Quakers ;  and  the  ceremony  was  conducted  according 
to  the  simple  methods  prescribed  by  the  Friends'  ordinances. 
Although  the  ceremony  was  so  simple,  the  gathering  was  dis- 


MR.  AND  MRS.  ALEXANDER  AT  THE  HOME  OF  MRS.  CADBURY 


Pi:NTE:cos'rAi,  Bi.e:ssing  at  Birmingham  89 

tinguished,  many  of  the  religious  leaders  of  Great  Britain 
being  present. 

The  city  of  Birmingham  turned  out  en  masse  to  see  the  wed- 
ding procession.  It  is  said  that  on  only  two  previous  occas- 
ions in  the  city's  history — one  of  which  was  the  death  of 
the  bride's  father — had  such  throngs  assembled  to  witness  any 
public  event.  The  streets  were  so  packed  with  eager  and 
interested  spectators  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  pro- 
cession moved  through  the  surging  mass. 

When  the  Meeting  House  was  reached,  the  ceremony  pro- 
ceeded with  considerable  periods  of  silence  as  is  customary. 
As  the  Spirit  moved  them  two  or  three  persons  arose  and  gave 
a  brief  message,  or  led  in  prayer,  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
making  their  simple  declaration  near  the  beginning  of  the 
meeting. 

The  day  following  their  marriage  was  spent  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Alexander  at  the  Cadburys'  country  home  near  Birming- 
ham, which  was  once  the  home  of  Jenny  Lind.  Two  days 
later  the  bridal  pair  took  a  steamer  for  a  six  weeks'  honey- 
moon trip  to  America. 

Except  for  a  week,  spent  at  his  old  home  in  Tennessee, 
their  stay  was  almost  entirely  devoted  to  addressing  Christian 
conferences  and  assemblies  on  the  great  revival  work  which 
had  been  accomplished  in  England  during  the  previous 
eighteen  months.  Two  or  three  days  were  spent  at  North- 
field,  where  Mr.  Alexander  conducted  the  singing  with  his 
usual  enthusiasm,  and  made  the  famous  auditorium  erected  by 
D.  L.  Moody  ring  with  musical  melody  as  it  perhaps  had  never 
done  before.  It  was  Mr.  Alexander's  first  visit  there ;  and  his 
services  were  so  appreciated  that  he  was  urged  to  return  the 


90       Twice:  Around  THie  World  With  Ai.exande:r 

following  year;  and  he  has  been  g-oing  there  each  year  since 
unless  other  engagements  prevented  him. 

Mr.  Alexander  also  visited  Chicago,  where  he  took  part  in 
crowded  meetings  in  Di\  Torrey's  church  and  in  the  Bible 
Institute.  He  also  assisted  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  in  the 
revival  campaign  he  was  conducting  in  St.  Louis,  in  connection 
with  the  World's  Fair;  and  visited  the  Winona  Bible  School 
where  two  thousand  ministers  had  gathered  for  a  ten  days' 
conference,  and  which  is  an  American  ''Keswick." 

A  TRUE  HELP-MATE 

Despite  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Alexander  had  been  brought  up  in 
the  midst  of  comfort,  she  has  always  been  used  to  mission 
work,  and  since  her  marriage  has  thrown  herself  most  heartily 
into  her  husband's  work,  accompanying  him  on  his  tours, 
and  doing  active  personal  service  in  revival  meetings  night  after 
night.  So  ardent  a  soul-winner  is  she  that  I  have  seen  her 
keep  the  janitor  waiting  half  an  hour  to  turn  out  the  lights 
after  a  meeting,  while  she  pleaded  with  some  poor  lost  soul 
to  accept  Christ.  She  believes  every  Christian  should  be  a 
personal  worker. 

Mrs.  Alexander's  father  was  one  of  the  greatest  public  bene- 
factors who  ever  lived  in  Birmingham.  He  gave  to  all  good 
causes  with  a  lavish  hand.  One  of  his  benefactions  was  a 
beautiful  quadrangle  of  almshouses  for  the  aged  poor. 
Another  was  the  founding  of  a  Friends'  Institute  in  the  slums, 
as  well  as  giving  a  beautiful  home  of  his  own  as  a  Convalescent 
Hospital  for  children. 

It  was  when  she  was  12  years  of  age  that  Miss  Cadbury 
made  an  open  confession  of  Christ.     During  a  Friends' 


Pentecostal  Blessing  at  Birmingham  91 

Mission — for  all  the  Cadburys  are  Friends — in  that  part  of 
Birmingham  where  her  father  had  built  up  a  large  mission 
work,  she  stood  up  with  the  tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks  and 
publicly  accepted  Christ.  Even  after  she  had  arisen,  a  girl 
friend  whispered  to  her,'  You  are  a  Christian  already,  you 
need  not  do  this,  and  especially  before  these  poor  people.' 
But  Miss  Cadbury  was  not  ashamed  of  her  Lord,  and,  not  only 
stood  up,  but  went  into  the  inquiry  room  where  her  father  was 
working.  She  knelt  with  him  in  prayer,  and  fully  surrendered 
her  life  to  Christ. 

While  attending  the  High  School  she  helped  to  organize  a 
unique  and  interesting  society  among  her  schoolmates.  It 
was  called  the  'Tocket  Testament  League.''  The  rules  were : 
That  every  member  must  be  a  Christian  and  seek  to  win  others 
to  Christ ;  must  be  a  member  of  a  daily  Bible  reading  society ; 
and  must  always  carry  a  Testament  in  her  pocket.  The  girls 
had  special  pockets  made  in  their  dresses  for  carrying  their 
Testaments ;  and,  when  any  member  challenged  another,  the 
one  challenged  had  to  produce  her  Testament  in  answer.  The 
organization  flourished  greatly,  at  one  time  numbering  sixty 
members.  It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  numerous 
''Pocket  Testament  Leagues"  have  recently  been  organized  in 
the  United  States,  as  the  result  of  that  one  started  years  ago 
by  Mrs.  Alexander. 

Mrs.  Alexander  is  a  college  woman,  and  r^ads  and  speaks 
German  fluently.  She  has  visited  Palestine  three  times — on 
one  occasion  making,  in  company  with  her  parents,  a  long 
camping  tour  through  it.  It  was  during  her  second  visit  to 
the  Holy  Land,  in  1899,  that  her  father  passed  away  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem.    From  that  time  until  her  marriage.  Miss 


92       TwicK  Around  the:  World  With  AivExander 

Cadbury  devoted  herself  more  than  ever  to  reHgious  and 
philanthropic  work  with  her  mother,  among  the  poor  of  Bir- 
mingham. She  regularly  taught  a  Sunday  School  class  of  20* 
young  women,  training  them  to  become  teachers;  while  on 
Sunday  evenings  she  conducted  a  Gospel  service  for  young 
children  at  the  Friends'  Institute.  At  another  Institute  erected 
by  her  father,  she  superintended  a  Working  Girl's  Club, 
which  had  a  m.embership  of  about  sixty,  and  met  weekly. 

MRS.  ALEXANDER  AS  AN  AUTHOR 
Recently  Mrs.  Alexander  has  achieved  not  a  little  distinction 
as  an  author.  She  has  written  a  beautiful  and  comprehensive 
life  of  her  father,  entitled  ''Richard  Cadbury  of  Birmingham," 
which  has  won  high  praise  from  the  English  press.  She  has 
also  written  several  poems,  one  of  which  is  here  reproduced : 

"Dear  God,  who  sendest  us  both  joy  and  pain, 
Teach  us  in  both  to  recognize  thy  hand; 
For  over  all  Life's  change  of  smiles  and  tears 
Hangs  a  thick  veil  of  mystery;  and  when 
Our  inner  sight  is  blinded;  and  we  grope 
For  reasons  in  the  twilight  of  our  souls. 
By  which  to  solve  the  puzzle  Life  presents 
All  seems  capricious.    Till,  at  length,  the  sun 
Of  thy  great  Love  in  rising  on  our  hearts 
Pierces  the  veil,  and  in  the  chequered  shade 
We  slowly  learn  to  understand  thy  plan 
Of  intermingled  grief  and  happiness. 
The  cup  of  sorrow  still  is  hard  to  drink 
But  thou  dost  share  it,  and  our  trembling  hearts 
Grow  stronger  to  endure  the  agony. 
How  gladly,  if  the  cup  be  full  of  joy 
We  take,  as  from  a  Father's  loving  hand. 
And  find  refreshment  in  the  pure  sweet  draught !" 


vin 


A  MEMORABLE  MIDNIGHT  MEETING 

Upon  the  return  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  to  England, 
following  their  brief  wedding  trip  in  America,  the  evangelists 
began  their  third  year's  campaign  in  Bolton,  where  more  than 
3,500  confessed  Christ  during  the  month's  Mission.  The 
meetings  were  held  in  a  large  drill  hall,  accommodating  about 
5,000  people.  The  head  of  the  committee  was  Col.  R.  H. 
Ainsworth,  J.  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  who  was 
an  ardent  personal  worker.  Night  after  night  he  and  his  wife 
could  be  seen  going  about  the  audience,  pleading  with  the  poor 
working  people,  who  attended  the  Mission  in  large  numbers. 

"THE  MIDNIGHT  SWEEP"  OF  THE  SLUMS 

One  of  the  most  memorable  meetings  of  the  Mission  was  a 
''Midnight  Sweep''  for  drunkards  and  outcasts.  At  10:30  one 
Saturday  night  over  a  thousand  workers  met  at  the  Drill  Hall 
where  services  were  being  held;  and,  forming  into  two 
brigades,  marched  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  singing 
revival  melodies.  As  they  went  through  the  slums,  one  by  one 
the  workers  caught  hold  of  drunkards  and  outcasts,  and  often 
literally  compelled  them  to  follow  the  procession  to  the  Drill 
Hall  meeting.  When  the  motley  throng  reached  the  hall  the 
scene  presented  was  pathetic  in  the  extreme.  A  thousand 
besotted,  blear-eyed,  uncouth  men  and  women  sat  looking 
wonderingly  up  at  the  evangelists  and  the  choir. 


94       Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

After  a  brief  address  by  Dr.  Torrey,  he  called  upon  Rev. 
W.  S.  Jacoby,  the  assistant  pastor  of  the  Moody  Church, 
Chicago,  to  talk  to  the  poor  creatures.  Mr.  Jacoby  knew  just 
what  to  say,  for  he  had  once  been  way  down  in  sin  himself; 
but  since  his  conversion  he  has  become  one  of  the  most  con- 
secrated men  in  America.  Dr.  Torrey  had  often  spoken  of 
him  as  ''the  best-loved  man  in  Chicago.''  During  Mr.  Alex- 
ander's wedding  tour  he  had  met  Mr.  Jacoby  in  Chicago, 
where  they  had  formerly  been  students  together  in  the  Moody 
Bible  Institute,  and  took  him  back  to  England  for  a  month. 
After  visiting  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Richard  Cadbury  in  Bir- 
mingham, Mr.  Jacoby  threw  himself  heartily  into  the  work 
at  Bolton. 

Hundreds  were  melted  to  tears  that  night  as  Mr.  Jacoby 
told  the  throng  of  drunken  men  and  women  how  he,  too,  had 
once  been  a  victim  of  drink,  but  had  conquered  the  habit 
through  the  acceptance  of  Christ.  A  part  of  his  life-story, 
which  he  often  tells  with  great  power,  is  as  follows : 

I  want  to  thank  God  to-day  that  I  have  been  redeemed  from 
a  life  of  sin.  I  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  I  joined 
the  navy  in  1862,  where  I  went  deeply  into  sin.  Later  I 
became  a  police  officer  in  Philadelphia.  I  was  a  very  wicked 
man  at  that  time.  Owing  to  the  kind  of  life  I  lived  I  was  sus- 
pended; but  I  had  a  political  friend  who  went  to  the  mayor 
four  or  five  times  for  me,  and  got  me  reinstated  each  time, 
until  finally  after  I  had  been  suspended  again  the  mayor  said 
to  him,  Xook  here,  I  wouldn't  put  that  fellow  on  again  if  he 
was  my  own  brother.'  I  just  tell  you  that  to  give  you  a  little 
idea  of  what  I  was.  Now  I  want  to  tell  you  what  God  did 
for  me,  and  what  God  can  do  for  a  man. 


A  Me:morabIvE  Midnight  Meeting  95 


MR.  JACOBY'S  LIFE  STORY 

*'My  father  was  well-to-do,  and  started  me  in  the  teamster 
business  down  on  Front  street;  but  I  drank  so  much  whiskey 
that  he  couldn't  have  me  in  the  house  any  more  at  all,  and  I 
do  not  blame  him.  He  could  not  trust  me,  and  had  no  confi- 
dence in  me;  I  would  betray  him  or  mother  or  anyone  else, 
and  so  I  went  off  into  the  army,  away  out  West.  I  had  been 
dishonorably  discharged  from  the  navy ;  and  I  got  dishonorably 
discharged  from  the  army  out  there,  and  I  had  to  beat  my  way 
home.  I  never  had  done  any  work;  and  you  cannot  imagine 
what  an  experience  I  had  on  that  journey.  I  stopped  in  St. 
Louis,  and  I  was  so  hungry  that  I  asked  for  work;  and  they 
put  me  to  shoveling,  and  wheeling  a  barrow  along  a  plank. 

''I  made  such  a  mess  of  it  that  the  boss  came  up  and  said, 
'Guess  you  never  did  that  kind  of  work  before?'  Well,  I  had 
not.  'All  right,  I'll  give  you  something  else.'  So  he  gave 
me  one  of  those  great  heavy  stamping  things  that  you  stamp 
the  cobble-stones  down  with.  That  was  awful ;  I  was  not  used 
to  that  kind  of  thing,  and  I  said,  'That's  enough  of  that;  I 
guess  I  will  go  on.'  I  did  not  get  any  money — I  was  only  there 
a  day  or  two — and  on  I  went,  beating  my  way  home  on  trains. 
I  took  a  coal  car  at  Reading  for  Philadelphia.  Oh,  what  a 
dirty  looking  fellow  I  was !  One  heel  had  gone,  jumping  on 
the  car,  and  I  was  smothered  in  coal  dust.  I  slipped  off  the 
car  at  Philadelphia,  went  to  our  house  and  rang  the  bell. 
Mother  came  down  stairs,  threw  up  both  hands,  and  said,  'Oh !' 
and  just  fell  right  on  my  shoulder  and  cried.  Away  down  as 
I  had  gone  into  sin  my  mother  still  loved  me.  They  packed 
me  upstairs  in  the  third  story;  it  was  a  large  house  and  my 
brother-in-law  and  sister  lived  there. 


96      Twic^  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

''They  kept  me  up  there,  and  my  father  did  not  know  I  was 
at  home.  About  the  third  day,  as  they  were  all  seated  at  the 
table,  at  noon,  my  sister's  little  girl  about  three  years  old  says : 
'Grandpa,  Uncle  Bill's  up  stairs.'  They  all  looked  at  one 
another;  and  father  says,  'Is  William  up  stairs?  Go  and  tell 
him  to  come  down.'  So  down  I  came.  lie  looked  at  me,  and 
he  said,  'How  do  you  do!'  and  I  said,  'How  do  you  do!' 
'Take  a  seat,'  and  I  did.  They  passed  me  a  plate,  and  he  asked 
for  it,  filled  it  up  and  I  went  to  eating.  He  said,  'What  are 
you  doing  now  ?'  I  said,  'nothing.'  He  said,  'You  are  getting 
along  better  than  I  am.'  I  looked  at  my  mother,  and  there 
she  sat,  and  there  was  a  smile  on  her  face  for  one  moment, 
and  then  the  next  the  tears  were  running  down  her  cheeks; 
she  saw  us  there  together,  but  she  saw  the  estrangement 
between  us.  He  went  out,  and  he  said  to  my  brother-in-law, 
'Do  all  you  can  for  him/  I  tell  you  that  to  show  what  passed 
in  my  life. 

"I  heard  them  singing  to-day,  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There" ; 
and  it  brought  back  a  scene  to  my  recollection.  You  know 
I  told  you  that  I  had  been  out  in  the  West  among  the  Indians, 
serving  in  the  U.  S.  army.  I  received  a  letter,  telling  me  how, 
when  that  song,  'Where  is  My  Wandering  Boy  To-night' 
came  out,  and  it  was  sung  in  our  home,  mother  stood  at  the 
piano,  when  the  young  man  sang  it,  with  the  tears  running 
down  her  face.  She  was  thinking  of  her  boy  wandering  away 
from  home. 

'I  received  a  telegram  one  day  saying,  'Hurry  if  you  want 
to  see  mother  before  she  passes  away ;  and,  as  fast  as  I  could, 
I  hurried  to  Philadelphia,  jumped  into  a  carriage,  went  home 
and  up  stairs  to  the  room  where  mother  was  lying,  seemingly 


A  MemorabIvE:  Midnight  Meeting  99 


unconscious.  I  am  almost  tempted  to  believe  that  mother 
knew  I  was  there.  They  said  she  had  looked  toward  the  door 
again  and  again  when  it  was  opened,  and  they  knew  she  was 
looking  for  her  boy ;  and  when  I  ran  into  the  room  I  couldn't 
see  anyone  else;  I  just  threw  myself  upon  the  bed  and  in  a 
few  moments  she  had  passed  away. 

PROCESS  OF  CONVERSION 

"It  was  in  a  little  town  out  West  one  day  that  I  found 
Jesus  as  my  Saviour.  I  had  heard  of  God,  and  used  to  go  to 
church.  I  remember  my  Sunday  School  days,  but  do  you 
know  I  don't  ever  remember  my  Sunday  School  teachers'  tell- 
ing me  about  Jesus,  though  they  probably  did.  I  did  not  know 
anything  about  the  Word  of  God  at  that  time ;  but  I  tell  you  I 
had  been  an  awfully  wicked  man,  and  the  people  of  that  town 
knew  it.  One  time  I  had  a  row  with  several  of  them ;  and  the 
citizens  were  just  going  to  get  together  and  outlaw  me  and 
forbid  my  coming  into  the  town.  But  it  was  there  that  I  was 
converted.  I  remember  being  down  at  the  altar  at  the  Metho- 
dist Church,  and  I  kneeled  there  and  some  one  would  ask  me 
if  I  didn't  feel  it.  'Well,'  I  thought,  'what  have  I  got  to  feel  ?' 
I  supposed  there  would  be  a  kind  of  glorified  shock  coming  to 
me  pretty  soon.  I  did  not  know  what  else  to  expect.  I  went 
up  there  for  six  or  seven  nights.  I  had  started,  and  I  was 
going  to  find  Jesus.  As  I  knelt  there  some  one  would  whisper, 
'Don't  you  feel  any  different?'  'No,  I  don't  feel  any  different.' 
One  of  them  said,  'Rise  up  and  join  the  church  on  probation.' 
I  did  not  know  what  that  meant,  but  I  said,  'I  have  served  the 
devil  for  forty-five  years,  and  I  will  serve  Jesus  the  rest  of  my 
life,  if  I  never  have  any  feeling'.    I  thought  that  the  'feeling' 


loo      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

was  for  the  good  people  that  had  been  good  all  their  lives,  and 
that  I  had  been  such  a  rascal  I  was  not  entitled  to  any  feeling. 

''I  started  out  to  serve  Jesus  for  the  rest  of  my  life,  and  the 
people  began  to  come  to  my  store— (I  had  a  little  store  then)  — 
and  they  told  me  about  the  Bible  and  about  the  things  of  God, 
and  how  I  would  rejoice.  The  more  they  told  me  the  hungrier  I 
got;  I  would  rather  hear  them  talk  about  Jesus  than  sell  four 
or  five  dollars  worth  of  goods.  Pretty  soon  I  would  go  out 
into  the  school-house  and  testify.  They  wanted  me  to  preach. 
I  said,  'I  cannot  preach';  but  I  do  remember  catching  a  man 
that  had  a  bob-sled  one  day,  and  having  a  prayer  meeting  in 
his  sled  as  we  went  along,  and  leading  him  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, 

WANTED  HIM  FOR  MAYOR 

*'By  this  time  I  knew  I  was  saved,  but  I  hadn't  that  joyful 
experience  that  others  talked  about.  One  day  I  went  into  a 
prayer-meeting.  A  lady  said  to  me,  'God  is  not  only  able  to 
save  you,  but  he  is  able  to  fill  you  with  joy  and  make  you  a 
power  in  his  service.  Don't  you  want  that  kind  of  expe- 
rience ?'  'Yes,  I  do.'  'Well  you  pray  to  God  and  ask  him  for 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  he'll  give  it  you.'  I  did.  I 
don't  know  that  I  ever  went  without  a  meal  in  my  life  before 
that  unless  I  had  to.  But  they  decided  to  fast  and  pray  that 
day.  I  heard  the  dishes  rattling  out  in  the  kitchen  for  some 
of  the  folks'  dinner,  and  I  was  going  without  any.  That  was 
very  strange  to  me,  but  I  said  to  the  brethren  after  a  while, 
as  wc  sat  there  in  prayer,  'I  believe  God  is  sending  the  unction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  me  right  now ;  I  realize  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  presence ;  he  is  giving  me  a  blessing.  ^ 

"And  I  fell  on  my  knees,  and  all  of  us  thanked  him  in 


A  Memorabi^e:  Midnight  Meeting  ioi 


prayer.  As  we  knelt  there  I  was  alongside  a  great  big  fat 
farmer.  They  were  all  round  the  room>  praying  earnestly  that 
God  might  pour  out  his  blessing  upon  the  meeting;  and  all 
at  once  I  thought  to  myself,  'Why,  that  old  fellow,  what's  he 
shaking  that  way  about  ?'  Pretty  soon  he  would  shake  again, 
and  I  said,  'I  believe  he's  laughing.'  The  idea  of  laughing  in 
a  prayer-meeting.  But  the  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  laughing, 
too.  Before  that  meeting  was  over  we  were  laughing  and 
crying  and  singing.  God  had  come  down  in  power  upon  us, 
and  then  I  knew  what  it  meant  to  have  feeling. 

"About  two  or  three  years  after  I  was  converted  in  that 
town,  and  my  testimony  had  gone  out  all  around  there,  one 
of  the  leading  bankers  came  to  me  and  said,  *We  want  you  to 
run  for  mayor  of  the  town.  If  you  will  run  for  mayor  we  will 
put  you  on  both  tickets ;  there  won't  be  any  opposition.'  That 
is  what  God  can  do  for  a  man.  He  keeps  him  so  that  he  gets 
the  respect  of  all  people." 

When  Mr.  Jacoby  concluded,  Dr.  Torrey  appealed  for 
decisions ;  and  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  those  wretched 
men  and  women  went  forward  and  publicly  decided  their  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

THE  STORY  OF  A  KISS 

The  next  evening  Mr.  Alexander  called  upon  the  workers  to 
give  their  experiences  of  the  previous  evening.  After  several 
had  spoken,  the  Gospel  singer  invited  his  wife  to  the  platform  ; 
and  in  tender  tones,  which  held  her  great  audience  spell- 
bound, she  told  the  following  story : 

'Xast  night  as  we  sat  in  that  awful  midnight  meeting  my 
heart  ached  to  see  the  people  in  front  of  me.    I  could  not 


I02      Twici:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai.exande:r 


help  noticing  one  woman  in  the  second  row.  She  was  as 
drunk  as  could  be,  and  looked  about  as  disgusting  a  sight  as 
was  possible,  with  the  womanliness  all  stamped  out  of  her.  I 
was  praying  constantly  for  her  during  the  meeting.  In  the 
after-meeting  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  deal  with  her.  I  managed  to 
get  round  behind  the  platform  and  had  a  long  talk  with  her, 
and  I  believe  the  Spirit  of  God  pierced  through  the  fumes  of 
drink  into  her  soul.  She  promised  me  that  she  would  tidy  her 
hair  and  wash  her  face  and  come  again,  and  that  she  was 
willing  in  the  strength  of  God  to  give  up  the  sinful  life  she  was 
living.  But  it  may  be  helpful  to  some  to  know  that  the 
thing  that  pierced  right  through  her  muddled  brain  was  human 
affection.  I  tried  every  other  way  I  could,  insisting  that  I 
loved  her,  and  that  I  loved  her  because  God  loved  her.  At 
last  she  began  to  feel  the  effect  of  human  affection,  and — I 
hardly  like  to  tell  the  last  part  in  public — finally  she  looked 
up  into  my  face  and  said :  'I  know  God  loves  you.'  'Yes,'  I 
replied,  'God  loves  you,  too.'  And  at  length  she  looked  into 
my  eyes  and  said,  'Will  you  give  me  a  kiss  ?' 

"Well,  you  can  imagine  how  I  felt,  I  expect,  if  you  have 
ever  seen  a  poor  woman  like  that,  reeking  with  foul  odors, 
and  her  face  distorted  with  drink.  For  a  moment  I  involun- 
tarily shrank  from  it.  But  I  looked  to  God  and  said,  'What 
would'st  thou  have  me  to  do  ?'  And  he  seemed  to  say,  'Do  it 
because  I  love  her.'  And  I  said,  'I  will  give  you  a  kiss  for  the 
sake  of  Jesus  who  loves  you.' " 

Steps  were  taken  to  remove  the  woman  from  her  difficult 
surroundings  and  place  her  under  the  care  of  a  Christian  home. 
She  was  seen  clean  and  tidy  at  subsequent  meetings,  and  that 
kiss  doubtless  led  to  the  redemption  of  a  human  soul. 


A  Me:moRx\bi,E  Midnight  Meeting  105 

During  the  Bolton  campaign  I  was  greatly  impressed  by 
two  bright-faced  boys,  only  ten  and  twelve  years  of  age,  who 
were  members  of  the  choir  and  were  ardent  personal  workers 
in  spite  of  their  youth.  During  the  after-meetings — and  away 
from  the  meetings,  too —  these  little  fellows  did  personal  work 
as  consistently  as  any  worker  in  the  Mission.  Each  night  they 
could  be  seen  going  up  and  down,  in  and  out,  among  the  people, 
searching  out  some  boy  or  girl  who  was  not  a  Christian  to 
lead  that  one  to  Christ.  At  the  end  of  the  month  it  was  found 
that  these  two  boys  had  personally  led  forty-three  persons  to 
the  point  of  confessing  Christ. 

A  MONTH  IN  WALES 

After  leaving  Bolton  the  evangelists  conducted  a  month's 
campaign  in  Cardiff,  the  metropolis  of  Wales,  where  a  great 
iron  tabernacle  seating  7,000  was  erected  in  the  heart  of  the 
city  for  the  evangelists,  at  a  cost  of  $13,000.  The  great  struc- 
ture was  practically  filled  every  night,  while  often  hundreds 
and  thousands  were  unable  to  obtain  admission.  At  first,  the 
Welsh  people  seemed  cold  and  unresponsive  to  the  appeals  of 
the  evangelists;  but  as  the  month  drew  to  a  close  the 
enthusiasm  became  intense  and  fervid.  Personal  work  was 
done,  not  only  in  the  great  tabernacle,  but  on  the  street  cars,  in 
barbers'  shops,  in  stores  and  homes  and  factories — everywhere. 
Indeed  during  the  closing  days  of  the  Mission  the  air  was 
so  charged  with  spiritual  fervor  that  it  seemed  as  if  we  were 
transported  back  nineteen  centuries  and  were  living  in  the  days 
of  the  early  church. 

The  Welsh  people  were  quck  to  catch  up  Mr.  Alexander's 
revival  melodies;  and  soon  the  streets  of  the  city  were  ring- 


io6      Twice:  Around  the  WorIvD  With  Alexander 


ing  with  them ;  and  in  a  brief  period  they  were  known  and  sung 
throughout  all  South  Wales.  Many  persons  do  not  doubt  that 
the  revival  campaign  at  Cardiff  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
wonderful  religious  awakening  which  immediately  after  the 
crusade  swept  South  Wales  like  a  cyclone.  Many  of  Mr. 
Alexander's  songs  became  the  battle  hymns  of  the  great  move- 
ment. After  the  Welsh  revival  had  been  in  progress  for  some 
time,  I  made  a  brief  trip  into  the  heart  of  it,  and  attended  three 
meetings  conducted  by  Evan  Roberts,  with  whom  I  had  a  long 
talk.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  he  told  me  that  one  of 
Mr.  Alexander's  hymns,  which  were  sung  everywhere  through- 
out Wales,  was  the  touching  hymn,  ''Tell  Mother  Til  Be 
There,"  while  of  course  the  famous  ''Glory  Song"  penetrated 
into  almost  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the  Principality. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  converts  of  the  revival  in 
Cardiff  was  Mr.  F.  C.  N.  Douglas,  a  member  of  the  Cardiff 
Stock  Exchange.  He  was  led  to  accept  Christ  through  hear- 
ing the  congregation  singing  "Looking  This  Way."  After  his 
conversion  he  threw  all  his  great  energy  into  winning  others  to 
Christ.  During  the  crusade  in  Liverpool,  he  conducted  a 
special  excursion  party  from  Cardiff  to  visit  the  Mission.  The 
train  was  called  "The  Welsh  Glory  Special,"  and  was  declared 
to  be  the  finest  excursion  train  that  ever  ran  out  of  Cardiff. 
Mr.  Douglas  tells  the  story  of  his  transformation  as  follows: 

"The  nickname  Dr.  Torrey  got  on  'Change'  was  the  'Ameri- 
can Hustler.'  I  thank  God  he  hustled  me  right  into  salvation. 
The  night  after  I  had  surrendered  all  to  Christ,  I  came  again 
to  the  meeting;  and  Dr.  Torrey,  after  having  invited  those 
who  would  accept  Christ  to  go  down  to  the  front  seats,  said, 
'Christians,  go  to  work!'    I  thought  that  was  for  me,  and  if 


A  Memorable  Midnight  Meeting  107 

there  ever  was  a  weak-kneed  Christian  I  was  one  at  that 
moment.  But  I  thank  God  he  made  me  the  instrument  for 
bringing  in  two  souls  that  night.  I  cannot  describe  the  dehght 
I  felt  after  that;  there  is  no  comparison.  You  cannot  compare 
that  sort  of  thing  to  the  making  of  money.  I  spoke  to  three 
young  fishermen,  and  on  the  following  night  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  them  all  accept  Christ.  I  am  now  doing  slum  work 
in  'Tiger  Bay/  and  am  going  on  in  this  way  as  long  as  God 
will  help  me.  In  the  six  weeks  following  the  close  of  Dr. 
Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander's  work  in  Cardiff  I  praise  God 
he  has  used  me  to  bring  in  over  thirty  converts  into  the  fold." 

THE  REVIVAL  THAT  WOULD  NOT  STOP 

Seven  months  after  the  campaign  ended,  I  visited  Cardiff, 
and  found  Mr.  Douglas  conducting  open-air  meetings.  I  also 
found  that  the  revival  had  gone  right  on  after  the  evangelists 
had  left,  being  merged  into  the  great  Welsh  revival,  and  that 
there  had  been  two  or  three  times  as  many  converts  since  the 
crusade  as  there  were  during  its  progress.  The  pastor  of  one 
of  the  largest  churches  in  the  city  described  to  me  with  great 
joy  the  transformation  which  the  revival  had  wrought  in  his 
congregation.  Not  only  had  scores  joined  the  church,  but 
the  church  life  was  quickened  into  apostolic  fervor.  The 
people  thronged  the  prayer-meetings ;  and  a  prominent  feature 
of  the  church  work  was  the  open-air  meetings  under  the 
management  of  two  of  the  mission  converts. 


IX 


REVIVAL  HYMNS  CAPTURE  LIVERPOOL 

Liverpool  had  been  so  deeply  stirred  by  the  mission  of  the 
evangeUsts  a  year  previous,  that  they  were  now  invited  to 
return  and  conduct  a  campaign  for  nearly  three  months. 
Great  preparations  were  made  for  their  visit.  A  colossal  glass 
and  iron  Tournament  Hall  had  just  been  erected  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city ;  and  this  the  committee  rented  for  the  crusade  at 
a  cost  of  $15,000.  The  structure  held  12,500  people;  and  was 
reputed  to  be  the  largest  auditorium  in  Great  Britain,  except 
the  Crystal  Palace.  Huge  as  the  building  was,  however,  it 
proved  at  times  inadequate  to  contain  the  throngs  which 
gathered  to  hear  the  evangelists ;  and  at  the  closing  meeting 
it  is  estimated  that  35,000  people  endeavored  to  gain  admission. 
An  old  resident  of  Liverpool  who  was  present  at  the  service 
declared  that  the  scene  that  evening  surpassed  anything 
he  had  witnessed  during  the  famous  Moody  and  Sankey  cam- 
paign in  Liverpool,  nearly  a  generation  before.  As  the  result 
of  the  campaign  the  names  of  over  7,000  converts  were 
recorded. 

During  the  revival  Liverpool  was  honeycombed  with  praying 
bands;  personal  work  was  done  everywhere;  and  the  streets 
rang  with  revival  hymns.  One  evening  I  passed  five  young 
men  linked  arm-in-arm,  whistling  ''Tell  Mother  Til  Be  There," 
and  a  little  farther  on  four  boys  were  humming  the  ''Glory 
Song"  as  they  were  crossing  the  street.    Several  mornings  I 


Rdvivai,  Hymns  Capture  Livi:rpooIv  ttt 


was  awakened  by  the  milkman's  whistling  a  popular  revival  air 
as  he  delivered  milk  to  his  customers.  One  night  a  band  of 
boys  sang  a  Christmas  carol  under  my  window  and  followed 
it  with  a  revival  hymn.  * 

A  NOVEL  WEDDING  FEAST 

The  choir  in  Liverpool  numbered  3,658  members;  and  was 
the  largest  evangelistic  chorus  ever  organized  up  to  that  time. 
One  of  the  many  interesting  features  of  the  crusade  was  a 
wedding  feast  tendered  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  by  the  great 
choir,  in  the  form  of  a  huge  banquet  to  2,100  of  the  poorest 
people  of  Liverpool. 

It  was  a  thrilling  and  memorable  sight  to  see  the  entire  body 
of  the  huge  hall  filled  with  white-covered  tables,  at  which  over 
2,000  of  the  porest  of  the  city  were  sitting,  some  of  them  enjoy- 
ing a  good  meal  for  the  first  time  for  days  or  weeks.  Music 
wasfurnished  by  a  brass  band;  and  the  magnificent  choir — 
about  2,500  members  of  which  were  present — sang  hymn  after 
hymn  with  thrilling  effect  under  the  inspiring  leadership  of 
Mr.  Alexander.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast,  amid  much 
cheering,  Mr.  Alexander  ascended  the  dais  and  expressed  to 
the  choir  his  heartfelt  appreciation  of  their  unique  gift.  He 
declared  that  if  they  had  studied  for  years  they  could  not  have 
presented  anything  to  his  wife  and  himself  which  would  have 
pleased  the  recipients  so  greatly. 

He  then  said :  ''I  believe  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  helped  me 
to  get  my  wife.  I  don't  think  I  could  have  got  her  myself.  I 
believe  it  was  straight  in  answer  to  prayer.  One  of  the  first 
things  that  I  saw  (Til  just  let  you  into  a  little  secret — you 
must  not  tell  it,  though)  in  Bingley  Hall,  Birmingham,  was 


112      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


that  my  wife  (then  Miss  Cadbury)  would  go  back  to  the  end 
of  the  hall  and  get  hold  of  the  most  forlorn  looking  girl  or 
woman  in  the  building,  and  stay  almost  till  the  lights  were  out, 
trying  to  lead  her  to  Christ.  I  said,  'That's  the  woman  for 
me ;  and  I  want  to  say  to  the  young  men,  if  you  want  to  get 
a  wife,  be  sure  she's  a  soul  winner.  You  young  women,  if 
you  want  to  get  a  husband,  be  sure  he's  a  soul  winner  conse- 
crated to  God." 

Mrs.  Alexander  next  bravely  mounted  the  high  platform, 
and  likewise  expressed  her  deep  gratitude  for  the  wedding 
present.  As  she  had  been  watching  the  people  during  the 
evening,  the  scene  had  called  her  back,  in  thought,  to  the 
parable  of  the  Wedding  Feast  related  by  Christ  while  on 
earth.  To  the  poor  people  present  she  said :  What  we  long 
for  above  everything  else  is  that  all  who  come  here  to-night  to 
rejoice  with  us  should  learn  to  know  and  to  love  the  dear 
Saviour  who  fills  our  lives  so  full  of  joy." 

Before  the  meetings  concluded  two  hundred  and  seventeen 
persons  professed  to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  Lord 
and  King.  The  entire  occasion  was  so  successful,  and  produc- 
tive of  such  blessing  to  the  poor  people  that  a  short  time  later 
the  choir  raised  the  money  for  a  second  feast  to  Liverpool's 
poor,  which  was  attended  by  2,300  people,  and  at  which  there 
were  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  confessions. 

A  CHANGE  OF  SONGS 
During  the  second  crusade  at  Liverpool  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded  of  seeing  some  of  the  fruits  of  the  awaken- 
ing of  a  year  previous.    For  example,  one  of  the  Captains 
of  the  Stewards  during  the  Tournament  Hall  meetings  was  a 


Revival  Hymns  Capture  LiverpooIv  113 

convert  of  the  first  revival,  who  had  formerly  been  a  Music 
Hall  singer.  One  day  he  gave  me  the  remarkable  story  of  his 
conversion  as  follows: 

''Before  my  conversion  I  was  a  professional  singer,  and  was 
known  under  my  professional  name  of  Tom  Johns.  One 
evening  I  was  singing  at  a  concert  in  Liverpool,  and  in  the 
middle  of  my  comic  song  a  note  was  handed  to  me.  Without 
finishing  my  song  I  opened  it,  and  learned  that  my  mother 
was  lying  very  ill,  and  was  not  expected  to  live  through  the 
night.  I  hurried  away  to  her  house.  On  my  way  I  had  to 
pass  the  Philharmonic  Hall,  where  the  Torrey-Alexander 
meetings  were  being  held;  and,  as  I  passed,  the  congregation 
was  singing,  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There.'  The  words  sank 
deeply  into  my  heart,  for  I  knew  that  I  could  not  then  promise 
to  meet  my  mother  in  heaven.  I  could  not  get  away  from  the 
words  of  that  song.  They  rang  in  my  ears  persistently. 
Every  time  I  asked  myself,  'Can  I  tell  mother  Fll  be  there?' 
my  conscience  would  answer  in  the  negative.  I  realized  that 
complete  surrender  to  God  was  the  only  way  to  answer  my 
question.  Then  and  there  I  yielded  my  will  to  him,  cancelled 
all  my  engagements,  and  my  joy  is  now  complete  that  I  am 
able  to  sing  with  truth,  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There.'  " 

The  singer's  conversion  was  the  beginning  of  active  service 
for  his  Master.  Not  long  afterwards  he  was  out  at  a  Christ- 
mas party,  and  was  invited  by  his  friends  to  sing  one  of  his 
old  songs  which  had  always  been  very  popular  at  such  gather- 
ings. Instead  of  that,  however,  he  pulled  from  his  pocket  one 
of  Alexander's  New  Revival  Hymn  Books,  and,  placing  it  on 
the  piano,  sang  "Looking  This  Way."  So  popular  did  the 
hymn  prove  that  more  were  demanded,  and  the  company  con- 


1 14      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

tinued  singing  revival  hymns  until  midnight.  As  a  result  of 
that  evening  of  Gospel  song  several  of  the  young  men  of  the 
party  gave  their  hearts  to  God,  and  later  acted  as  stewards 
at  the  revival  meetings  at  Tournament  Hall. 

The  man  who  was  perhaps  the  most  enthusiastic  of  all  the 
personal  workers  during  the  revival  in  Liverpool  was  also  a 
convert  of  the  former  campaign.  He  was  a  medium-sized, 
keen-eyed  business  man,  with  a  face  radiant  with  happiness, 
but  with  grey  hair,  though  only  forty- four  years  of  age.  His 
name  was  Edward  Roberts,  and  the  story  of  his  transforma- 
tion recalls  the  days  of  the  early  church.  From  early  manhood 
he  had  been  an  amateur  boxer  and  a  noted  referee  at  prize 
fights.  One  night  he  attended  a  Torrey- Alexander  meeting; 
was  soundly  saved ;  and  his  life  was  totally  changed  from  that 
hour.  I  want  to  give  you  a  part  of  his  story,  just  as  he  fre- 
quently tells  it  before  his  audiences  where  many  are  weeping 
before  he  concludes : 

''On  the  24th  of  September,  1902,  I  had  promised  my  wife 
that  I  would  take  her  to  hear  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander ; 
but  there  was  a  boxing  contest  on  at  Liverpool  that  night 
between  an  American  and  an  Englishman,  and  it  was  very  few 
of  those  contests  that  I  used  to  miss.  You  would  find  my  name 
in  the  sporting  part  of  the  papers  as  referee — Mr.  Robert 
Humphreys  I  called  myself ;  I  suppose  I  was  ashamed  to  use 
my  own  name.  However,  I  took  m}-  wife  that  night  to  the 
Philharm.onic  Hall.  When  we  got  there,  there  was  a  crowd 
of  people  waiting  outside;  the  meeting  for  women  not  quite 
over.  I  said  to  my  wife,  'Do  you  suppose  I  am  going  to  crush 
against  this  crew?'  It  would  have  been  all  right  among  the 
crew  who  were  waiting  to  get  in  to  see  the  fight.    I  would 


Re;vivai,  Hymns  Capture  Livdrpooi,  115 


have  crushed  with  the  best  of  them ;  but  it  was  to  hear  some- 
thing that  she  knew  might  reach  my  heart,  and  I  didn't  want  to 
go  in.  At  last  I  got  in  with  her,  but  I  took  Httle  notice  of 
what  was  said  or  done. 

THE  SONG  CLUTCHED  HIS  HEART 

''On  the  following  Monday  I  must  have  given  my  wife  a 
terrible  shock  by  telling  her  that  I  thought  I  would  go  and 
hear  Dr.  Torrey.  I  went.  I  got  there  about  a  quarter  to 
seven  and  had  to  wait  over  an  hour;  but  God's  Spirit  was 
working  with  me  so  strongly  that  night  that,  if  necessary,  I 
would  have  waited  a  day  and  a  half,  not  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Finally  I  got  into  the  building  and  sat  down.  The  next  thing 
I  knew  of  was  that  they  got  up  to  sing : 

"  'When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride.* 

If  I  were  to  speak  from  now  till  to-morrow  morning  I  could 
not  describe  the  feeling  that  came  over  me  as  they  sang  that 
third  verse : 

"  'See  from  his  head,  his  hands,  his  feet, 
Sorrow  and  love  flow  mingled  down, 
Did  e'er  such  love  and  sorrow  meet, 
Or  thorns  compose  so  rich  a  crown  ?' 

"I  got  down  and  cried  as  I  have  never  cried  before  nor 
since.  The  love  of  Christ  did  it.  I  stood  when  the  invitation 
was  given,  and  went  to  the  front.  A  gentleman  came  to  me 
and  said,  'Do  you  know  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  can  save 


ii6      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

you  ?'  I  said,  *If  he  can  save  me  he  can  save  any  man  in  the 
world' ;  and  I  felt  it  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  He  opened 
his  Bible  and  showed  me  text  after  text,  and  verse  after  verse, 
and  in  the  next  five  minutes  I  saw  more  of  the  Bible  than  I 
had  seen  for  the  previous  fifteen  years.  We  got  down  and 
prayed,  the  tears  rolling  down  my  face,  and  at  last  the  light 
came.  I  came  out,  and  went  home  and  told  my  wife  the  glad 
news.  She  had  been  praying  for  me  at  home ;  and  not  until 
then  did  I  learn  that,  together  with  a  group  of  friends,  she 
had  been  praying  for  my  conversion  for  six  years.  That 
nearly  broke  me  down  for  a  second  time.  Now  I  can  scarcely 
realize  my  former  life.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  lived  that 
dark  life  in  some  other  world.  I  never  knew  what  life  was 
until  I  came  to  Christ." 

Mr.  Roberts  is  outdoor  manager  of  sixty  meat  shops  at 
Liverpool,  and  is  a  very  busy  man;  but  he  is  constantly  wit- 
nessing for  Christ,  on  the  streets  and  at  religious  gather- 
ings. He  always  carries  his  Bible  in  his  coat  pocket;  and  if 
he  changes  his  coat  he  changes  his  Bible  from  one  coat  to  the 
other.  His  face  fairly  glows  with  the  joy  that  fills  his  heart. 
His  wife  says  their  home  is  now  so  happy  that  it  seems  like  her 
second  life  on  earth. 

A  GIRL'S  PATHETIC  LETTER 
A  beautiful  feature  of  the  work  was  the  soul-winning 
enthusiasm  of  the  boy  and  the  girl  converts.  Following  the 
Christmas  intermission  one  of  the  evangelists  received  from  an 
eleven-year-old  girl  the  following  pathetic  letter  which  tells 
its  own  story : 

have  been  waiting  such  a  very  long  time  for  you  to  come 


Ri^vivAi,  Hymns  Capture  LiverpooIv  117 


back  so  that  I  could  send  you  this  letter.  I  want  to  know  if 
you  will  pray  for  my  mamma,  who  is  always  getting  drunk. 
I  am  eleven  years  old,  and  came  to  the  last  children's  meeting, 
and  got  converted.  When  I  got  home  my  mamma  asked  me 
where  I  had  been,  and  I  said,  'To  the  Torrey- Alexander  Mis- 
sion/ She  got  up  and  hit  me  awful  because  I  had  been ;  and 
said  that  if  I  ever  came  again  she  would  nearly  kill  me.  So 
I  can't  come,  not  because  of  the  whipping  I  should  get,  for  I 
would  not  mind  that,  but  because  I  should  be  disobeying 
orders.  But  I  can  do  something  even  if  I  cannot  come  to 
the  meeting.    I  can  pray  and  sing. 

"I  haven't  got  a  father;  he  died  a  week  before  Christmas, 
but  mamma  does  not  seem  to  mind  a  bit.  She  got  drunk  on 
the  funeral  day,  and  couldn't  go  to  the  funeral.  I  was  singing 
one  of  your  hymns  on  Christmas  Day ;  mother  had  come  home 
drunk,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the  house,  so  I  thought  I 
could  do  nothing  else  but  to  pray  for  the  Mission,  and  to  sing 
to  my  Heavenly  Father  who  has  done  such  a  lot  for  me,  *A 
little  talk  with  Jesus  makes  it  right,  all  right!'  Will  you 
please  have  sung  Hymn  36,  'Over  the  River  Faces  I  See.' 

"Now  I  must  close,  keeping  on  trusting  and  obeying,  and 
there  is  one  who  will  help  me,  and  only  one,  and  that  is  God. 
God  answers  prayer  if  we  have  faith  in  him." 

THE  RETURN  OF  A  WANDERER 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  converts  of  the  entire  Liver- 
pool movement  was  a  young  lawyer  who  gave  his  heart  to 
God  at  the  very  first  meeting  held  in  Tournament  Hall.  Mr. 
Alexander  gave  me  the  story  of  his  conversion  as  follows : 

"Over  a  year  before  we  went  to  Liverpool,  a  prominent 


ii8      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


business  man  of  Manchester  had  gone  to  Dr.  Torrey,  and 
said  to  him,  'I  wish  you  would  pray  for  my  son.  He  is 
thirty-seven  years  old,  a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
traveling  from  country  to  country.  I  don't  know  where  he  is 
much  of  the  time ;  but  God  knows,  and  I  want  you  to  pray  for 
him.'    Dr.  Torrey  promised  he  would  do  so.    Months  passed, 

and  when  Dr.  Torrey  was  at  Keswick  the  same  gentleman 
came  to  him  again  and  said:  'I  have  found  out  that  my  son 
is  away  over  in  Vancouver.  Can  you  tell  me  some  one  to  cable 
to?  I  want  him  put  under  restraint.'  Dr.  Torrey  gave  him 
the  address  of  a  pastor  whom  he  knew  in  Vancouver ;  and  the 
father  at  once  cabled  to  him  in  order  that  he  might  look  after 
his  son.  Before  the  cablegram  had  reached  Vancouver,  how- 
ever, the  young  man  had  left  the  city  and  was  again  wander- 
ing in  the  great  Northwest.  Months  passed  on,  and  Dr. 
Torrey  and  I  began  our  campaign  in  Liverpool.  On  the 
very  first  night  of  the  crusade  that  same  young  man  for  whom 
prayer  had  been  made  months  before  walked  into  the  build- 
ing, listened  to  the  service,  was  convicted  of  sin  and  gave 
his  heart  to  God.  The  young  man  became  an  earnest  worker, 
and  spent  several  weeks  with  us  in  Liverpool,  and  was  the 
means  of  leading  many  to  accept  Christ.  For  many  years  he 
had  been  separated  from  his  wife,  but  to-day  he  has  a  happy 
home  once  more,  and  is  serving  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart. 
The  last  I  heard  of  him  was  that  he  was  studying  to  become 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel." 

One  of  the  red  letter  days  of  the  campaign  occurred  when 
a  company  of  over  five  hundred  Bolton  people  chartered  a 
special  train  and  came  to  Liverpool  to  attend  the  afternoon  and 
evening  services.   It  was  probably  the  largest  revival  party  that 


RevivaIv  Hymns  Capture:  Live:rpooIv 


121 


ever  made  a  journey  by  rail  in  England.  At  the  close  of  the 
night  meeting  they  formed  in  ranks  outside  Tournament  Hall, 
together  with  five  hundred  Liverpool  people,  and  marched  over 
a  mile  to  a  railway  station,  singing  revival  hymns.  The  sing- 
ing was  in  perfect  time  and  tune,  for  it  was  conducted  by  Mr. 
Alexander,  from  the  top  of  a  cab,  by  the  waving  of  a  white 
handkerchief.  They  thronged  the  station  platforms,  sang 
heartily  for  fifteen  minutes ;  and,  as  the  special  train  departed, 
all  united  in  the  chorus,  ''We'll  Never  Say  Good-bye  in 
Heaven." 

A  JAPANESE  CONFESSES  CHRIST 
A  Japanese  gentleman  of  high  rank  and  position  attended 
the  hall  one  Saturday  night,  and  remained  behind  to  see  Dr. 
Torrey.  He  had  gone,  but  Mr.  Alexander  talked  to  him  and 
told  him  how  to  find  out  that  the  Bible  is  indeed  God's  Word. 
He  sat  up  all  night,  reading  the  Gospel  of  John.  He  saw  that 
it  was  the  word  of  God;  and  attending  the  early  morning 
meeting  on  the  Sabbath,  confessed  Christ  from  the  platform. 
Like  so  many  other  converts,  he  at  once  set  to  work  to  win 
others.  Liverpool  has  a  large  Chinese  population;  and, 
though  this  man's  prejudices  were  altogether  unfavorable  to 
these  people,  he  went  among  them,  and  was  the  means  of 
many  conversions.  In  the  after-meeting,  on  the  very  last 
night  of  the  Mission,  he  was  found  busy  among  the  men  who 
remained  behind.  He  said  that  six  Chinese  whom  he  had 
brought  to  the  meeting,  and  for  whom  he  had  been  praying, 
had  just  accepted  Christ.  He  had  time  for  only  a  passing 
word,  and  was  off  again  in  another  instant.  Later  he  was 
eagerly  talking  with  a  group  of  young  men.  He  was  planning 
to  ^o  as  a  missionary  of  the  Gospel  to  his  own  people. 


122      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

Near  the  close  of  the  movement  an  honor  unique  in  English 
civic  life  was  accorded  to  the  evangelists.  The  Lord  Mayor 
of  Liverpool  gave  a  luncheon  in  their  honor  in  the  Town  Hall, 
to  which  he  invited  a  select  company  of  the  foremost  clergy 
and  business  men  of  the  city.  About  sixty  were  present, 
including  Mrs.  Torrey,  Mrs.  Alexander  and  Dr.  John  Wat- 
son, better  known  as  *'Ian  MacLaren." 

After  the  luncheon,  the  Lord  Mayor  expressed  his  gratitude 
for  the  visit  of  the  evangelists,  who  had  done  so  much  for  the 
political  and  commercial,  as  well  as  the  religious,  welfare  of 
the  city,  by  their  remarkable  work.  A  rector  of  Liver- 
pool, speaking  for  the  Church  of  England,  then  warmly  com- 
mended ''the  successors  of  Moody  and  Sankey'' ;  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Atkinson,  who  represented  the  Non- 
conformist ministers  of  the  city.  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alex- 
ander spoke  briefly,  expressing  their  gratitude  for  the  signal 
honor,  which  they  took  not  as  a  tribute  to  themselves  but  to 
their  labors. 

MEETINGS  IN  A  FACTORY 

One  of  the  most  notable  converts  of  the  first  revival  cam- 
paign of  the  evangelists  in  Liverpool  was  a  workman  in  a 
soap  factory,  who  had  been  a  habitual  drunkard.  He  had 
been  such  a  slave  to  drink  that  he  would  spend  whole  nights  in 
wild  drunken  carousals.  A  fellow  workman  induced  him  to 
attend  a  revival  meeting.  He  went;  he  found  Christ;  his 
life  was  transformed.  He  and  his  friend  bought  two  Alex- 
ander hymn  books,  and  began  singing  praises  to  God,  and  hav- 
ing short  prayer-meetings  every  day  at  noon  in  the  factory. 
The  singing  drew  in  others  until  the  attendance  exceeded  fifty 


Revivai.  Hymns  Capture  Liverpool  123 

daily,  and  many  workmen  were  converted.  Then  the  con- 
vert— who  was  a  musician,  and  had  formerly  played  the  violin 
all  night  long  at  dances — organized  a  revival  orchestra  among 
the  workmen.  He  became  its  leader;  and  they  went  out  and 
conducted  Gospel  services  in  churches  all  over  Liverpool, 
where  scores  were  led  to  Christ.  The  noon-day  prayer  meet- 
ings were  continued  for  more  than  a  year.  Then  came  the 
second  campaign  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander,  when  the 
Christian  workmen  were  filled  with  such  love  and  zeal  that 
they  began,  and  have  continued,  two  prayer  meetings  daily  at 
the  factory,  one  at  8  a.  m.  and  one  at  noon  during  the  lunch 
hour.  The  last  the  writer  heard  was  that  their  prayer  meet- 
ings were  still  keeping  up  splendidly. 


X 


"GET  RIGHT  WITH  GOD" 

Onk  striking  feature  of  the  world-wide  work  of  Dr.  Torrey 
and  Mr.  Alexander  was  the  distribution  of  small  white  cards 
bearing  on  their  face  in  bold  red  letters  only  four  words, 
''Get  Right  With  God."  In  Australia,  Mr.  Alexander  began 
giving  out  these  cards  by  tens  of  thousands  in  connection 
with  the  revival  meetings;  and  when  they  reached  England 
hundreds  of  thousands  were  distributed.  In  strange  and  unex- 
pected ways  people  of  all  ages  and  classes  were  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  cards  and  got  right  with  God.  A  whole 
volume  could  be  filled  with  beautiful  and  touching  narratives 
of  men,  women  and  children  who  were  converted  through 
the  little  cards. 

In  speaking  of  the  origin  of  the  phrase  and  of  some  of  the 
most  striking  transformations  wrought  through  the  sentence 
which  has  now  become  world  famous,  Mr.  Alexander  said  : 

''Some  years  ago  Major  James  H.  Cole  was  conducting  a 
series  of  revival  meetings  at  a  sea-side  resort.  As  he  walked 
up  and  down  the  beach  and  saw  the  indifference  of  the  throngs, 
he  prayed  earnestly  that  God  would  give  him  some  method  of 
rousing  them  to  a  sense  of  their  lost  condition,  following  which 
he  threw  himself  down  on  the  grass,  and  as  he  did  so  there 
flashed  through  his  mind  the  words,  'Get  Right  With  God.' 
They  seemed  to  be  a  message  directly  from  God  himself,  and 
he  arranged  to  have  this  sentence  printed  on  little  white  cards. 


COL.  H.  G.  B.  BEAUCHAMP.  C.B.,  OF  THE  BRITISH  ARMY 


'Gkt  Right  With  God"' 


127 


The  Major  has  been  using  them  ever  since  with  the  greatest 
success.  He  declares  he  could  fill  a  volume  six  inches  thick 
with  incidents  of  the  people  who  have  been  converted  through 
the  message  on  the  little  cards. 

THE  CARD  AND  THE  JUDGE 

**When  we  were  in  Ballarat,  Australia,  our  work  seemed  to 
need  something  to  create  greater  interest  and  to  give  people 
something  to  do  for  the  Lord.  I  remembered  the  four  words 
that  I  had  seen  on  a  card  in  America;  and  I  decided  to  use 
them  at  the  next  afternoon  meeting.  I  went  to  the  printers 
and  had  the  four  words,  'Get  Right  With  God'  set  up  in  large, 
clear  type,  and  printed  nicely  upon  narrow,  heavy  boards.  I 
had  14,000  of  the  cards  on  the  platform  at  the  beginning  of  the 
afternoon  meeting. 

''I  told  the  people  the  following  story  to  get  them  interested 
in  the  work  which  I  felt  sure  the  card  would  do : 

"In  a  city  in  America  an  evangelist  had  distributed  these 
cards  gummed  on  one  side.  A  little  girl,  whose  father  was  a 
judge,  took  several  home.  He  was  an  unconverted  man. 
While  he  was  away  from  the  home  she  went  into  his  room 
and  pasted  on  the  foot  of  his  bed,  'Get  Right  With  God.' 
Across  the  mirror  she  pasted  the  same.  She  put  another  in 
the  bottom  of  the  washbowl.  When  he  came  in  that  evening 
she  stuck  one  in  the  top  of  his  hat.  She  put  another  on  the 
handle  of  his  umbrella.  When  he  went  up  to  his  bedroom  she 
slipped  into  the  dining-room  and  placed  one  on  his  plate.  She 
managed  to  get  one  stuck  inside  his  desk  in  his  office. 

''When  he  went  to  retire  for  the  night  he  noticed  the  one  at 
the  foot  of  his  bed.    The  next  morning  when  he  arose  he 


128      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


noticed  the  one  in  the  washbowl,  and  the  one  on  the  mirror. 
When  he  went  to  his  breakfast  there  was  one  looking  him  in 
the  face  at  his  place  at  the  table.  When  he  went  to  get  his 
umbrella  and  hat  there  he  saw  them  again.  When  he  went 
down  to  his  office  and  rolled  his  desk  cover  back  there  was 
'Get  Right  With  God'  looking  him  in  the  eye  again.  He 
decided  to  give  his  heart  to  God,  and  get  right  with  him. 

'1  then  requested  the  Christians  in  the  audience  to  take  as 
many  as  they  could  distribute  judiciously.  They  were  eagerly 
caught  up  and  more  were  called  for. 

THE  MESSAGE  IN  THE  PAPER 

"We  began  to  hear  results  of  the  plan  on  every  hand.  I 
was  talking  to  a  bright  young  business  man  who  had  con- 
fessed Christ,  and  he  told  me  how  this  card  touched  him.  He 
looked  at  it,  and  stuck  it  hastily  into  his  overcoat  pocket,  and 
forgot  all  about  it  until  he  had  occasion  to  reach  in  his  pocket 
for  one  of  his  business  cards.  He  could  feel  this  card,  for  it 
was  longer  than  his  own ;  and  every  time  he  touched  it  he  was 
reminded  of  the  words,  'Get  Right  With  God,'  until  he  was 
driven  to  give  his  heart  to  the  Lord. 

''From  Ballarat  we  went  on  to  Sydney,  i,ooo  miles  away,  to 
hold  a  campaign  there.  I  told  the  Sydney  workers  about  it, 
and  handed  a  card  to  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  campaign 
to  show  him  the  sort  of  thing  it  was.  He  said,  'I  would  like 
to  take  one  home.'  He  had  a  paper  with  one  of  Dr.  Torrey's 
sermons  in,  and  slipped  the  card  inside  to  take  care  of  it. 
Later  on  he  got  into  conversation  with  a  man  who  was  under 
conviction  of  sin.  He  wanted  to  point  him  to  Christ,  but  did 
not  have  time  to  finish  the  conversation ;  so  he  said,  'Here, 


*'Ge:t  Right  With  God'' 


129 


take  this  paper  and  read  Dr.  Torrey's  sermon.'  The  man 
took  it  home,  but  did  not  Hke  to  have  any  of  the  family  see 
him  reading  a  sermon.  Many  people  are  like  that;  afraid  of 
what  others  may  think  or  say  of  them.  Propriety,  I  believe, 
sends  more  souls  to  hell  than  anything  else  except  neglect.  So 
that  man  waited  up  until  the  rest  of  the  family  had  retired, 
and  when  everyone  else  was  in  bed  he  opened  the  paper  to 
read  the  sermon.  As  he  did  so  the  little  card  fell  out  and  lay 
looking  up  at  him,  'Get  Right  With  God.'  As  he  gazed  at  the 
card  the  words  seemed  to  burn  into  his  soul,  and  then  and 
there  he  dropped  on  his  knees  and  got  right  with  God. 

OFFICER  HELD  HIS  CARD  IN  SIGHT 

''In  Belfast  we  had  150,000  printed  and  distributed.  I 
explained  to  the  workers  one  Sunday  morning  how  to  dis- 
tribute the  cards;  and  asked  them  to  give  one  to  every  man 
and  woman  they  met.  I  went  out  on  the  street  to  see  how  it 
was  being  done,  and  had  not  gone  far  before  I  met  a  police- 
man coming  down  the  street  past  the  crowds,  holding  out 
full  arm's  length  one  of  the  little  cards.  Everybody  he  passed 
had  wanted  to  give  him  another ;  and  this  was  the  only  way  he 
could  keep  them  from  approaching  him.  That  night,  while 
the  after-meeting  was  in  progress  a  gentleman  came  up  to  me 
and  said,  'Do  you  see  that  old  man  on  the  front  seat  ?  He  had 
been  drinking  this  morning.  His  little  girl  brought  him  one 
of  these  cards,  and  he  could  not  get  away  from  it.  He  stuck 
it  in  his  hat,  and  came  to  the  meeting,  and  now  he  is  saved.' 

"At  Edinburgh  a  fine-looking  commercial  man  came  to  me 
and  said,  'This  card  here  is  what  brought  me.  I  was  going 
out  of  Edinburgh  to  do  business.    I  bought  my  ticket;  here  it 


130      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


is  (and  he  pulled  it  out  and  showed  it  to  me),  and  got  into  the 
carriage.  I  went  to  pull  down  the  curtain  at  the  carriage 
window,  and  out  rolled  this  card,  which  some  one  had  stuck 
in  the  roll  of  the  curtain.  I  had  promised  my  old  mother 
years  ago  that  I  would  give  my  heart  to  Jesus.  But  I  wan- 
dered farther  and  farther  into  sin  until  I  was  afraid  of  myself. 
I  was  getting  worse.  I  went  home,  tipsy,  the  other  night,  and 
I  never  used  to  do  that.  I  thought  of  all  this  as  the  train 
went  on.  We  passed  another  station ;  and  I  felt  I  could  bear  it 
no  longer — I  must  settle  the  matter  now.  I  got  out  at  the  next 
station  and  came  back  again  to  Edinburgh.'  He  came  to  the 
meeting,  listened  to  Dr.  Torrey  and  was  saved  that  night ;  and 
now  he  is  working  with  all  his  heart  for  Christ. 

TWO  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  CARDS  IN  LETTER  BOXES 

*'In  our  first  campaign  at  Liverpool  we  distributed  200,000 
of  the  little  cards.  There  are  many  different  ways  of  using 
them ;  and  here  the  unique  plan  was  followed  of  putting  them 
in  the  letter  boxes.  A  few  days  later  a  woman  on  top  of  a 
tramcar  opened  her  bag,  and  in  it  was  a  little  packet  of  'Get 
Right  With  God'  cards.  'You  have  been  to  the  revival  meet- 
ings, haven't  you?'  . she  was  asked.  'Yes,'  she  replied,  'last 
Sunday  morning  my  husband  and  I  were  not  Christians.  We 
found  two  of  these  cards  in  our  letter  box,  and  had  great  fun 
about  it.  After  we  had  laughed  over  them  we  thought  later 
on  that  we  would  go  to  the  meeting.  We  both  went,  and  both 
were  saved  that  night.' 

"One  man  in  Liverpool  had  been  going  to  a  certain  place 
of  worship  for  many  years.  He  came  to  the  hall  where  our 
meetings  were  held,  and  stayed  to  the  after-meeting.  The 


''Get  Right  With  God''  131 

minister  01  the  church  he  attended  said  he  was  never  more 
surprised  in  his  Ufe  than  when  this  man  came  forward  for 
salvation.  He  asked  him  how  it  was,  and  the  man  answered, 
'This  card  was  stuck  in  my  pew,  and  it  has  been  staring  at  me 
all  the  time,  and  I  must  get  right  with  God/ 

''At  Bristol  one  young  man  put  the  card  into  the  hands  of 
250  cyclists.  Of  the  hundred  and  sixty  persons  who  accepted 
Christ  that  night  I  asked  those  to  stand  up  who  had  been  led 
definitely  to  Christ  through  the  little  'Get  Right  With  God' 
cards.  Seventeen  of  them  stood  up.  One  fine  looking  old 
gentleman  was  asked  where  he  got  his  card.  'Oh !'  he 
answered,  'it  was  given  me  six  miles  away,  and  I  have  walked 
over  here  to  the  meeting.'  And  he  walked  all  the  way  back 
again — twelve  miles  in  all. 

THE  STORY  OF  A  BRIDAL  COUPLE 

"In  our  second  crusade  in  Liverpool  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  the  cards  were  given  out  on  New  Years  Day,  1905.  Scores 
were  led  to  Christ  through  them.  Two  of  the  most  interesting 
converts  were  a  bride  and  a  groom  who  were  reached  by  the 
little  cards  in  a  most  remarkable  manner.  A  Christian  worker 
was  passing  a  church  when  he  saw  a  bridal  party  come  out  and 
enter  a  carriage.  Having  several  'Get  Right  With  God'  cards 
in  his  hand,  he  stepped  up  to  the  carriage  and  handed  one  to 
each  of  the  occupants.  Being  a  distinguished  looking  man 
with  silvery  hair  he  was  able  to  do  this  without  causing  the 
least  offense.  To  the  bride  and  the  groom  he  said,  'I  wish  you 
a  most  happy  New  Year,  but  it  cannot  be  the  happiest  pos- 
sible unless  you  are  absolutely  right  with  God.  I  will  deeply 
appreciate  it  if  you  will  take  these  cards  and  put  them  up  in 


132      IPwicK  Around  the  WorXd  With  Ai^exander 

prominent  positions  in  your  new  home;  and  I  would  like  to 
ask  especially  that  you  put  one  in  your  looking  glass/  The 
worker  then  went  on  his  way,  having  sown  the  seed.  Six 
days  passed.  At  the  end  of  the  week  the  same  worker  was 
delighted  to  see  the  bride  and  the  groom  to  whom  he  had 
given  the  cards  go  up  to  the  front  at  Tournament  Hall  and 
publicly  acknowledge  Christ  as  their  Savour,  Lord  and  King. 
He  went  forward  and  congratulated  them  heartily  upon  this 
step ;  and  then  they  told  him  they  could  not  get  the  message  of 
the  little  white  card  out  of  their  minds  until  they  finally  came 
to  the  hall  and  yielded  themselves  to  God. 

WHAT  ONE  POLICEMAN  DID 

"In  Liverpool  a  few  days  later,  a  minister  from  Manchester 
arose  at  an  afternoon  meeting  and  told  how  a  single  card  given 
out  during  our  campaign  in  that  city  had  been  the  means  of 
inaugurating  a  great  and  glorious  work.  He  said :  'A  police 
sergeant  came  to  one  of  your  meetings  and  got  hold  of  some 
of  the  'Get  Right  With  God'  cards.  That  same  night  he  dis- 
tributed them  while  on  duty.  There  was  one  of  the  men  under 
him  whom  he  was  very  anxious  to  see  won  for  God,  and  that 
night  he  spoke  to  him  about  his  soul.  The  man  turned  away 
from  him  with  the  remark:  'You  are  exceeding  your  duty 
now ;  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  a  policeman's  work.'  The 
sergeant  said,  'Well,  my  brother,  will  you  just  take  this  card 
and  look  at  it?'  The  man  took  it  out  of  courtesy;  and,  when 
he  got  home,  found  it  still  in  his  pocket.  He  read  it;  it  got 
hold  of  him  then  and  there,  and  he  gave  his  heart  to  God. 
Since  then  he  has  been  instrumental  in  leading  a  hundred  men 
to  Christ.    He  has  a  large  Bible  class  for  men. 


XI 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  A  TEXT 


A  VERITABLE  Gospel  romance  has  grown  up  around  this 
Scripture  text  which  has  been  the  means  of  leading  scores  of 
people  to  an  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  a  year  text, 
once  adopted  by  Mr.  Alexander,  which  has  since  been  adopted 
by  tens  of  thousands  of  people  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  In 
Melbourne,  Birmingham,  Liverpool,  and,  in  fact,  in  each  city 
that  the  evangelists  visited,  the  story  of  the  year  text  was  told ; 
and  it  never  failed  to  arouse  fresh  enthusiasm  for  God's  Word, 
and  to  lead  hundreds  to  adopt  it  as  their  year  text. 

''This  is  how  I  came  to  adopt  the  use  of  a  year  text,"  said 
Mr.  Alexander: 

''I  was  spending  vacation  with  a  young  man  in  a  certain 
town,  and  we  agreed  to  adopt  II.  Tim.  2 :  15  as  our  year  text — 
that  is,  a  text  on  which  to  shape  our  lives  during  the  whole  of 
that  year.  Our  bedrooms  adjoined,  and  we  were  so  fond  of 
each  other  that  we  slept  with  the  door  between  our  rooms 
open ;  and  when  we  went  to  bed  in  the  evening,  instead  of  call- 
ing out  'Good-night,'  we  used  to  sing  out,  'Second-Timothy- 
two-fifteen' ;  and  which  ever  of  us  woke  first  in  the  morning 
would  rouse  the  other  up  with 

•SECOND-TIMOTHY-TWO-FIFTEEN* 
"After  the  week's  vacation  was  up  we  had  to  part,  he  going 
one  way  and  I  another  on  the  Lord's  business.    I  went  down 


134      Twice  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

to  the  depot  with  him,  and  as  the  train  moved  off  he  stood 
out  on  the  back  platform — 'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen/  he 
said:  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen/  I  repHed. 

''The  train  drew  out.  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  I 
shouted;  and  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  came  back. 

"The  train  was  getting  clear  of  the  depot.  'Second- 
Timothy-two-fifteen'  I  shouted  for  all  I  was  worth;  and 
'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  came  back  very  faintly.  'Second- 
Timothy-two-fifteen'  I  let  go  once  more ;  but  I  didn't  hear  any 
answer — only  saw  the  white  of  his  handkerchief  fluttering  in 
the  wind;  but  I  knew  all  the  time  that  he  was  shouting 
'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen.'  Some  of  the  people  must  have 
thought  we  were  pretty  crazy — one  on  the  tail  of  a  train  and 
one  on  the  platform,  and  both  shouting  out  'Second-Timothy- 
two-fifteen.'    But  wait  till  you  hear  the  rest  of  my  story. 

"For  the  whole  year  we  stuck  to  that  text.  Whenever  we 
wrote  we  put  it  across  the  corner  of  our  envelopes,  and  every 
letter  I  sent  to  any  one  had  across  it  II.  Tim.  2:  15,  whilst  a 
whole  lot  of  my  friends  did  the  same  with  the  letters  they 
sent  me. 

"Twelve  months  later  I  was  back  in  that  same  town,  con- 
ducting some  young  people's  meetings ;  and  I  was  speaking  of 
the  great  advantage  of  having  a  year  text.  I  had  been  asking 
them  to  adopt  the  text  that  I  had  started  out  on  when  a  young 
fellow  got  up  and  interrupted  me.  'I  am  very  glad,'  he  said, 
'that  Mr.  Alexander  ever  took  'Second-Timothy- two-fifteen' 
for  his  year  text.'  'How's  that?'  said  I.  'Well,  friends,'  said 
he,  'twelve  months  ago  I  was  down  at  the  depot  seeing  some 
people,  when  I  heard  a  fellow  shouting  for  all  he  was  worth 
'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  to  a  man  on  the  end  of  the  out- 


The  Romance:  oi^  a  Text 


135 


going  train,  and  the  man  that  was  going  away  was  shouting 
back  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen!'  Well,  I  thought  what  is 
this  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  they  are  shouting  about 
anyway?  So  I  made  a  bee-line  for  home,  arid  looked  it  up  in 
my  Bible.  I  wasn't  a  Christian  then,  but  the  first  words  of 
that  text  just  hit  me  between  the  eyes — ''Study  to  show  thyself 
approved  unto  God."  Then  I  went  on  and  read  the  rest — "A 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the 
word  of  truth."  I  asked  God  to  forgive  me  my  sins,  and 
help  me  to  "show  myself  approved,"  and  thank  God  he  has 
done  it !' 

"That  man  had  hardly  sat  down  when  another  one  got  up 
and  said,  'I  have  to  thank  God  that  Mr.  Alexander  took  that 
text  for  his  year  text.'  'Why'?  said  I.  'Well,'  he  said,  'I 
never  saw  Mr.  Alexander  before  to-night ;  but  the  first  Sunday 
I  spent  in  this  town  that  man  who  has  just  spoken  came  to 
me  and  pointed  me  to  Christ.  He  was  saved  through  hearing 
Mr.  Alexander's  calling  out  "Second-Timothy-two-fifteen": 
and  I  was  saved  through  his  hearing  it.' 

A  MIGHTY  AUDIENCE  ADOPTS  THE  TEXT 
"Later  on  I  went  to  Australia.  At  the  very  last  meeting 
we  held  there,  after  Dr.  Torrey  had  preached  about  an  hour, 
and  we  had  sung  and  sung,  the  people  still  waited.  'Why 
don't  you  go  home?'  I  asked.  They  said,  'We  want  to  sing.' 
We  sang  'God  Be  With  You'  seven  times  straight  through, 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  Still  they  did  not  move,  and  I 
said  again,  'Why  don't  you  go  home?'  'We  want  to  sing* 
came  the  answer,  and  we  sang  and  sang  until  I  thought  they 
must  be  tired  of  singing.    So  I  said,  'I  want  everybody  to 


136      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  AivExander 


listen  now  while  I  tell  you  the  story  of  a  text.'  And  I  told 
them  this  story.  Then  I  said,  'Now  everybody  who  will  take 
''Second-Timothy-two-fifteen"  as  a  year  text,  say  it  together.' 
You  should  have  heard  them — eight  thousand  there  were — 
saying  it  'Sec'-ond-Tim'-othy-two'-fif-teen.' '  It  was  just  like 
big  waves  rolling  upon  the  seashore.  Now,  if  you  want  to 
see  how  that  sounds,  just  try  it.  Say  it  twice,  one  after  the 
other  without  a  break,  just  as  you  would  a  college  yell — 
'Sec'-ond-Tim'-othy-two' -fifteen.'  Sec'-ond-Tim'-othy-two'-fif- 
teen'.' 

"While  I  was  telling  the  story  that  night  there  was  a 
reporter  in  front;  and  he  took  down  every  word  just  as  I  had 
told  it;  and  it  was  published  in  the  Southern  Cross.  It  came 
over  to  England  where  a  London  journal  copied  it.  A  good 
woman  in  England  wrapped  that  paper  up  and  sent  it  to  a 
soldier  in  Calcutta,  and  that  soldier  read  the  story  and  gave  his 
heart  to  God. 

''You  say,  'How  do  you  know  ?'  Because  in  going  through 
Calcutta  I  saw  him.  He  came  up  to  me  and  said,  'Are  you  the 
one  who  told  that  story  down  in  Melbourne?' 

"  'Yes.' 

"  'Well,'  he  said,  'that's  the  reason  I  am  a  Christian !' 
"There  it  was.    That  story  had  gone  seventeen  thousand 
miles,  and  led  a  soldier  to  Christ. 

THE  TEXT  HAD  GONE  BEFORE  THEM 
"After  the  story  had  been  printed  in  that  Australian  paper 
we  did  not  need  introduction  when  we  would  go  on  to  the 
next  place  to  hold  a  revival  campaign.    Just  as  soon  as  Dr. 
Torrey  and  I  got  off  the  train,  people  we  had  never  seen 


The  Romance  of  a  Tex/t 


137 


before,  and  who  had  never  seen  us,  would  begin  to  say 
'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen/  We  went  across  to  Tasmania. 
A  great  crowd  had  assembled  along  the  dock,  and  they  all 
looked  like  strangers.  But  one  great  big  fellow  put  his  hand 
up  to  his  mouth  as  the  ship  was  running  up  to  the  dock,  and 
shouted  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen,'  and  we  felt  at  home 
right  away. 

''When  we  reached  England  it  was  the  same  way.  Thou- 
sands of  letters  that  passed  through  the  British  post-office  had 
IL  Timothy  2:  15  written  upon  outside  or  inside  or  both. 
There  was  a  deacon  in  England  who  told  his  pastor  about 
it;  and  the  pastor  came  to  me  when  we  were  holding  some 
meetings  in  Mildmay  Conference  Hall,  London,  and  said, 
'The  whole  church  has  taken  Second-Timothy-two-fifteen  as  a 
year  text.' 

"A  party  of  sixty  Cambridge  University  students  went  to 
Oxford  to  attend  a  religious  gathering.  As  the  famous  text 
was  their  motto,  they  had  a  cloth  sign  twelve  feet  long,  printed 
with  'Second-Timothy-two-fifteen'  in  huge  letters  and  hung  it 
on  the  side  of  their  car.  It  was  read  by  thousands  of  people  as 
the  train  rushed  along  with  its  crowd  of  noisy  students. 

THE  TEXT  AT  THE  COURT  OF  DENMARK 
"Still  later  the  story  of  the  year-text  was  published  in 
another  London  journal.  The  paper  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Master  of  Ceremonies  at  the  Court  of  Denmark — a  man  of 
very  high  rank  and  influence.  He  read  about  the  famous 
text,  and  was  greatly  impressed  with  its  world-wide  work.  A 
few  days  later  he  was  to  act  as  chairman  at  a  large  and  influen- 
tial gathering  of  the  leading  people  of  Denmark.    He  decided 


138      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

to  give  them  the  story  of  Second-Timothy-two-fifteen/  The 
narrative  was  so  popular  that  Second-Timothy-two-fifteen  is 
now  a  famiHar  phrase  even  in  far-off  Denmark. 

''If  you  are  the  superintendent  of  a  Sunday  School,  or  the 
teacher  of  a  class,  tell  your  scholars  this  story,  and  urge  them 
to  take  it  as  a  year  text.  It  will  make  them  better  scholars, 
and  will  draw  them  nearer  to  God/' 


XII 

THE  "GLORY  SONG"  AROUND  THE  WORLD 

Few  if  any  songs  in  modern  times  have  achieved  world-wide 
popularity  so  quickly  as  the  ''Glory  Song."  It  is  said  to  have 
"set  Australia  on  fire/'  It  seemed  to  captivate  London  in  a 
day;  and  thence  as  from  a  center  it  swept  with  lightning-like 
rapidity  throughout  the  British  colonies  and  the  rest  of  the 
world. 

The  song  may  now  be  heard  in  many  tongues  and  dialects. 
It  has  been  translated  into  at  least  17  languages,  including  the 
Chinese  and  the  language  used  by  the  Zulus  in  South  Africa. 
It  has  appeared  in  print  in  leaflets,  newspapers,  magazines  and 
books  no  less  than  17,000,000  times.  It  is  enjoyed  by  all 
classes  and  conditions  from  the  street  urchin  to  the  nobility. 

The  greatest  victory  of  the  "Glory  Song''  was  when  it 
took  the  world's  metropolis  by  storm.  Within  two  weeks  after 
the  Mission  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  began  in  the 
Royal  Albert  Hall  the  song  was  hummed  and  whistled  and 
sung  on  the  streets,  in  shops  and  factories,  in  trams  and  trains, 
on  the  underground  railway — everywhere.  Shop  girls  sung  it 
on  their  way  home  from  work;  newsboys  whistled  it;  police- 
men hummed  it  on  their  beats,  and  pirated  editions  of  it  were 
sold  on  all  the  leading  thoroughfares  of  the  city.  A  musical 
expert  declared  he  had  never  known  any  other  song,  sacred 
or  secular,  to  be  in  everybody's  mouth  so  quickly  as  was  the 
"Glory  Song/' 


140      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

THE  SONG  IN  DENMARK 

A  Danish  pastor  who  visited  the  revival  in  England  for  a 
week,  told,  one  day,  how  he  had  been  captivated  by  the  song; 
and  how  it  was  spreading  throughout  Denmark.  ''Three  years 
ago,"  said  the  pastor,  ''I  was  sick  for  a  fortnight,  and  while 
lying  on  my  bed  I  received  from  London  a  copy  of  a  paper  in 
which  there  was  a  report  of  the  Torrey- Alexander  revival,  and 
a  reprint  of  the  'Glory  Song,'  words  and  music.  In  that 
fortnight  God  came  into  my  heart  in  a  wonderful  way ;  and  as 
I  lay  in  my  bed  I  translated  the  'Glory  Song'  into  Danish. 
When  I  was  strong  enough  I  went  to  revival  meetings ;  and 
for  four  weeks  we  sang  the  'Glory  Song,'  and  I  suppose  God 
used  it  to  save  many  people.  This  autumn  we  had  four  meet- 
ings, at  which  2,700  people  were  present — more  than  half  of 
them  men ;  and  we  sang  the  'Glory  Song'  evening  by  evening 
until  their  hearts  were  glowing.  When  I  return  to  Den- 
mark I  am  going  from  city  to  city,  and  town  to  town,  conduct- 
ing revival  meetings,  and  teaching  the  people  to  sing  the 
'Glory  Song.'  " 

When  I  asked  Mr.  Alexander  about  the  authorship  of  the 
song,  and  how  it  sprang  into  universal  favor,  he  said : 

"The  'Glory  Song,'  words  and  music,  was  written  in  Chicago 
by  Charles  H.  Gabriel,  who  is  one  of  the  most  popular  Gospel 
song  writers  in  America  to-day.  I  remember  quite  well  the 
first  time  I  saw  it  in  looking  over  a  new  song-book.  I  had 
just  glanced  at  it,  and  said  to  myself,  'That  man  has  wasted  a 
page,  for  I  do  not  believe  that  song  will  be  sung  much.'  Some 
months  later  I  stepped  into  a  large  Sunday  School  convention, 
and  heard  an  audience  sing  it.  It  took  such  a  hold  of  me  that 
I  could  think  of  nothing  else  for  days  thereafter.,  I  got  all  of 


Thi:  Song"  Around  the  Wori.d  igi 

my  friends  to  sing  it.  I  dreamed  about  it,  and  woke  to  the 
rythm  of  it.  Then  I  began  to  teach  it  to  large  audiences ;  and 
soon  whole  towns  were  ringing  with  the  'Glory  Song.' 

''I  remember  one  little  town  in  Kansas,  called  Wellington, 
where  the  university  students  turned  out  in  a  body,  men  and 
women,  and  marched  through  the  town  four  abreast,  singing 
lustily  as  they  tramped : 

Oh,  that  will  be  glory  for  me.' 

THE  MARCHERS  SING  THE  "GLORY  SONG" 

"Later  I  was  in  a  neighboring  town  conducting  a  mission; 
and  the  largest  revival  excursion  I  ever  heard  of  came  to  visit 
us.  They  chartered  a  special  train  of  fourteen  large  cars  and 
two  engines,  and  brought  over  eight  hundred  people,  many  of 
them  the  most  prominent  merchants,  bankers,  society  ladies, 
people  of  all  grades  and  classes.  When  they  alighted  from  the 
train  they  formed  in  long  lines  four  deep,  and  marched 
through  the  streets — eight  hundred  strong — each  of  them  wear- 
ing a  ribbon  on  which  was  printed  with  large  letters,  ^Glory 
for  me.'  Needless  to  say  they  set  the  entire  town  ringing  with 
the  melody. 

''When  I  went  to  Australia  I  determined  that  the  'Glory 
Song'  should  be  the  great  hymn  of  the  Mission  in  Melbourne. 
The  very  first  night  it  struck  fire,  and  was  called  for  a  second 
time  by  the  chairman  of  the  meeting.  In  a  few  days  it  was 
in  everybody's  mouth,  and  it  was  being  printed  in  secular  as 
well  as  religious  papers.  The  news  of  its  popularity  in  Aus- 
tralia went  everywhere,  and  thus  started  the  song  on  its  world- 
wide career. 

''It  is  a  song  that  takes  with  society  people  as  well  as  musi- 


142      Twice  Around  the  WorIvD  With  Ai.exandi:r 

cal  people.  The  name  of  the  song  at  once  interests  everybody. 
Millions  of  people  have  been  reached  through  its  publication 
in  the  daily  newspapers.  It  was  printed  three  times  in  the 
London  Daily  Mail,  which  has  over  a  million  circulation.  I 
was  in  a  great  many  parts  of  London,  and  asked  all  classes 
and  all  grades  of  people  if  they  had  ever  heard  of  the  'Glory 
Song,'  and  I  did  not  receive  a  single  negative  answer. 

THE  "GLORY  SONG"  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 

''A  friend  of  mine  made  a  bicycle  tour  through  Western 
England;  and  he  said  that  people  were  whistling  or  singing 
the  melody  on  the  streets  of  almost  every  village  and  city 
through  which  he  passed.  In  the  Welsh  revival  the  'Glory 
Song'  was  in  constant  use,  and  was  one  of  the  first  songs  to 
be  used.  It  was  called  for  at  almost  every  service  we  held  in 
the  Royal  Albert  Hall,  London.  One  afternoon  I  did  not  have 
it,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  I  had  pitiful  and  indignant 
appeals  for  it.  One  clergyman  said  he  had  come  200  miles, 
and  ought  to  go  back  that  afternoon,  but  that  he  would  stay 
until  the  night  meeting  if  we  woud  have  the  'Glory  Song.'  I 
have  also  found  that  the  longer  people  sing  it  the  better  they 
like  it ;  and  the  greater  volume  that  can  be  secured  in  rendering 
it  the  better  it  is. 

''I  recently  heard  of  a  young  man  who,  before  he  was  con- 
verted, had  bought  a  nine-gallon  cask  of  beer  and  placed  it  in 
his  cellar.  After  his  conversion  he  sent  for  his  deacon  and 
minister.  They  lifted  the  barrel  of  beer  up  on  the  sink,  turned 
on  the  tap,  and  sang  the  'Glory  Song'  together  while  the  beer 
ran  away. 

"One  afternoon  a  worker  came  to  me  in  the  Royal  Albert 


MR.  PAUL  GILBERT 


SECRETARY  J.  J.  VIRGO 


The  ''Glory  Song''  Around  the  Wori.d  145 

Hall,  London,  and  said  that  a  Jew  had  been  present  at  the 
service,  and  had  heard  the  audience  sing  the  'Glory  Song.' 
When  they  came  to  the  words — 

'When  by  his  grace,  I  shall  look  on  his  face,* 

the  thought  came  to  him:  'These  thousands  of  people  seem 
sincere;  they  may  be  right  and  Jesus  may  be  the  Messiah. 
If  that  is  true,  I  shall  never  look  on  his  face  unless  I  accept 
him.'  And  that  train  of  thought  led  to  his  taking  Christ  as 
his  Saviour. 

''During  our  campaign  in  Sheffield,  England,  I  received  the 
following  letter : 

"Dear  Mr.  Alexander:  Several  of  my  friends  have  told 
me  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  hear  this  little  incident  of  the 
'Glory  Song.'  During  the  revival  I  posted  a  large  bill  on  a 
board  announcing  the  meetings;  and  on  the  top  I  placed  a 
photo  of  Dr.  Torrey  and  yourself,  with  the  first  verse  of  the 
'Glory  Song'  printed  underneath.  This  stood  at  our  shop  door 
the  whole  four  weeks  of  the  revival.  I  took  it  away  on  Mon- 
day morning;  and  not  long  afterwards  a  woman  said  to  me, 
'Why  have  you  taken  that  board  away?'  I  replied  that  the 
Torrey-Alexander  meetings  were  over.  She  said,  'Oh,  I  am 
so  sorry;  that  verse  has  made  my  husband  quite  a  different 
man.  He  has  been  here  nearly  every  day  to  read  it,  and 
when  he  has  comiC  home  he  has  said,  'Well  I  have  been  to  read 
my  verse: 

'When  all  my  labors  and  trials  are  o'er,' 

and  tried  to  say  it  off  from  memory.  'Since  then,'  said  the 
woman,  '  he  has  signed  the  pledge  and  is  trying  to  lead  a  better 
life.'    'I  might  add,'  the  writer  continued,  'that  he  was  the 


146      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exanddr 

most  unlikely  person  to  have  taken  the  slightest  notice  of 
the  verse/ 

THE  LAUNCHING  OF  THE  DREADNAUGHT 

*'One  striking  incident  heard  about  the  song  was  contained 
in  a  letter  I  received  from  England.  The  writer  said  that 
the  song  was  sung  at  the  launching  of  the  H.  M.  S.  Dread- 
naught,  the  largest  battleship  in  the  world,  one  of  whose  guns 
is  said  to  shoot  twenty-seven  miles.  King  Edward  was  present 
at  the  launch,  and  had  given  orders  that  there  be  no  band 
music,  in  view  of  the  death  of  his  father-in-law,  the  King  of 
Denmark.  His  command  was  complied  with,  but  no  order  had 
been  given  prohibiting  singing;  hence  the  bluejackets  on  the 
v/arship  sang  several  hymns  as  the  ship  was  launched,  and  the 
first  number  of  the  program  was  the  'Glory  Song.'  It  was 
simply  another  proof  of  the  world-wide  popularity  of  the 
hymn/' 


XIII 


WONDERFUL  SCENES  AT  ROYAL  ALBERT  HALL 

The  most  notable  of  all  the  Missions  of  Dr.  Torrey  and 
Alexander  around  the  world  was  that  held  in  London,  the 
world's  metropolis.  It  lasted  five  months — from  February  to 
June,  and  the  expenses  amounted  to  $85,000.  The  number  of 
professed  conversions  recorded  reached  about  17,000. 

The  movement  was  inaugurated  at  the  invitation  of  the 
'Xondon  Evangelistic  Council,"  a  large,  unsectarian,  influential 
body  of  nearly  a  hundred  men,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Lord 
Kinnaird,  one  of  the  foremost  religious  leaders  of  Great 
Britain.  The  members  of  the  committee  included  leading 
business  men  of  London,  members  of  Parliament,  editors, 
lawyers  and  clergymen.  The  chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  Mr.  W.  G.  Bradshaw,  deputy  chairman  of  the  Lon- 
don City  and  Midland  Bank.  The  honorary  secretary  of  the 
great  crusade  was  Mr.  John  H.  Putterill,  the  secretary  of  the 
London  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

The  Council  was  ably  assisted  during  a  part  of  the  cam- 
paign by  an  Auxiliary  Ladies'  Committee,  which  included  in 
its  membership  a  number  of  women  belonging  to  the  nobility. 
Among  the  active  members  of  the  committee  were  Lady 
Napier,  Lady  Agnes  Anderson,  Lady  Trelawney,  Lady  Wim- 
borne,  the  Hon.  Misses  Kinnaird  and  Mrs.  C.  E.  Tritton. 
The  president  of  the  committee  was  Mrs.  Webb-Peploe,  wife 
of  Prebendary  Webb-Peploe  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and  the 


148      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

vice-president  was  ^liss  ]\Iorley,  the  president  of  the  Y.  W.  C. 
A.    Lady  Hope  also  worked  actively  in  the  campaign. 

A  CHOIR  OF  FOUR  THOUSAND 

The  famous  Royal  Hall  was  engaged  for  the  first  tw^o 
months ;  an  iron  and  glass  building  seating  5,500,  and  costing 
$20,000,  was  erected  in  South  London  for  the  next  two 
months;  and  another  great  building  seating  over  5,000  was 
erected  in  the  Strand  in  the  heart  of  London,  for  the  last 
month  of  the  campaign.  In  each  case  the  choir  numbered 
nearly  4,000  members,  with  about  1,000  in  attendance  nightly. 

The  first  series  of  meetings,  during  February  and  March, 
was  held  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall,  a  great  circular  structure 
erected  as  a  memorial  to  Prince  Albert,  the  royal  consort  of 
Queen  Victoria.  It  is  the  finest  and  most  famous  auditorium 
in  Great  Britain.  It  accommodates  11,000  people,  but  so  great 
were  the  throngs  in  attendance  that  sometimes  from  5,000  to 
10,000  people  were  unable  to  obtain  admission.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  the  attendance  at  the  meetings  was  about  100,000 
per  week,  or  over  750,000  for  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  campaign. 

At  the  great  welcome  meeting  in  the  Royal  x\lbert  Hall  on 
February  4,  1905,  the  evangelists  were  greeted  by  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  audiences  ever  gathered  in  the  historic  build- 
ing. It  included  leaders  of  all  creeds  in  the  world's  metropo- 
lis; journalists  and  publishers  famous  the  world  over  and  nu- 
merous members  of  Parliament. 

"ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT" 
The  great  audience  was  both  melted  and  electrified  by  the 

revival  melodies  as  rendered  under  the  leadership  of  Mr. 


WONDERFUI.  ScENJ:s  AT  RoYAL  Al^B^RT  HaUL  I49 

Alexander.  Standing  upon  the  high,  red  dais  erected  upon  the 
platform,  he  captivated  and  dominated  first  his  two-thousand 
voiced  choir  and  then  his  huge  audience,  until  he  had  them  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  made  the  vast  structure  resound 
as  probably  never  before  with  thunderous  paeans  of  revival 
song.  The  next  day  a  -writer  in  a  London  daily  declared  the 
Gospel  singer  was  ''Alexander  the  Great'' ;  that  he  was  more 
than  a  choir  conductor ;  he  was  a  ''crowd  conductor" ;  and  that 
he  would  "make  London  hum,  for  he  would  make  London 
sing.'' 

The  editor  of  a  London  daily,  who  had  himself  attended 
the  meetings,  gave  his  readers  his  own  impressions  of  the  sing- 
ing. He  said:  "I  have  seen  the  methods  and  the  triumphs  of 
the  most  famous  baton  wielders  of  the  time— Colonne,  Nikisch, 
Mottl,  Weingartner,  Henry  J.  Wood.  Never  have  I  been  so 
much  impressed  as  I  was  by  this  bright-faced,  athletic-framed, 
energetic  young  evangelist.  As  the  leader  of  a  choir  he  has 
an  amazing,  an  almost  magical,  influence.  It  is  not  only  over 
the  trained  choir,  either,  that  his  influence  carries.  He  simply 
makes  everybody  sing,  and  sing  just  as  he  wants  them  to. 
Never  has  Albert  Hall  resounded  with  a  greater  volume — 
never  thrilled  to  a  more  intense  effort." 

COL.  BEAUCHAMP  ENLISTS 
On  the  night  following  the  welcome  meeting,  the  first 
evangelistic  service  was  held  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall. 
Although  eleven  thousand  people  were  inside  the  great  build- 
ing, yet  it  was  estimated  that  ten  thousand  others  were  unable 
to  secure  admission.  Dr.  Torrey  delivered  a  powerful  sermon 
on  the  subject,  "What  it  Costs  not  to  be  a  Christian."    At  its 


150      Twice  Arouxd  the  World  ^^'ITH  Alexander 


conclusion,  when  he  gave  the  invitation  to  all  those  who  w^ould 
accept  Christ  to  stand  up  and  publicly  confess  him,  between 
two  and  three  hundred  persons  arose  in  all  parts  of  the  hall. 

The  very  first  man  to  stand  upon  his  feet,  almxost  as  soon  as 
the  words  were  out  of  Dr.  Torrey's  mouth,  was  a  well  dressed 
gentleman  sitting  upon  the  platform,  ivho  was  later  found  to 
be  a  Colonel  in  the  British  Army,  and  a  member  of  the  nobil- 
ity-— Colonel  Horace  G.  P.  Beauchamp,  C.B.,  son  of  Sir 
Thomas  and  Lady  Beauchamp.  He  had  been  induced  by 
friends  to  take  an  interest  in  the  meetings ;  and  as  he  listened 
to  Dr.  Torrey's  convincing  arguments  he  decided  to  give  his 
heart  to  God  and  boldly  confess  Christ  before  the  great  multi- 
tude. From  that  night  Col.  Beauchamp's  life  was  transformed. 
He  went  everv'where  telling  his  friends  about  his  conversion, 
and  giving  his  testimony  before  large  and  small  audiences. 
On  one  occa-ion  he  addressed  a  great  ]\Ien's  Meeting  in 
Exeter  Hall,  and  on  another,  spoke  to  the  students  at  the 
London  Polytechnic.  Speaking  at  a  convert's  meeting  soon 
after  his  conversion,  Col.  Beauchamp  said  :  "How  easy  every- 
thing is  now!  I  can't  keep  quiet.  Every  one  of  my  friends 
knows  it.  Now  my  whole  desire  is  to  serve  God.  Thank  God 
his  Holy  Spirit  is  working  through  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Alexander.  It  is  not  Dr.  Torrey;  it  is  not  ^Ir.  Alexander;  it 
is  God's  Holy  Spirit  working  in  the  Albert  Hall.  Life  is  so 
easy  now.  All  the  difficulties  ahead  of  me  have  vanished ;  and 
I  am  able  to  speak  of  God's  love  and  of  all  that  he  has  done 
for  me/' 

A  SOLDIER'S  STORY 

One  night  when  speaking  to  a  group  of  poor  men  at  the 
London  Medical  ^vlission.  Col.  Beauchamp  told  them  something 


Wonderful  Scenes  at  Royai.  Ai^bert  Hai.1,  151 

of  his  life  story  before  his  conversion,  saying:  ''I  sowed  my 
wild  oats  as  well  as  anybody.  I  was  an  awful  gambler ;  I  think 
gambling  kept  me  back  more  than  anything  else  from  becoming 
a  child  of  God,  Eventually  in  His  mercy  God  again  spoke  to 
me.  I  had  got  command  of  my  regiment,  and  thought  it  was 
about  time  I  gave  up  living  for  the  devil  and  pulled  myself 
together.  So  I  tried  in  my  own  strength  to  live  for  God. 
What  I  did  in  my  own  strength  was  to  live^  fairly  'religious' 
life.  I  used  to  go  to  the  hospital  every  single  day.  I  would 
conduct  service  every  Sunday.  I  used  to  go  to  the  prayer 
meetings  on  week  days;  I  would  come  up  from  the  polo 
grounds  and  go  straight  into  the  prayer-meeting  in  my  polo 
kit.  From  the  prayer  tent  I  would  go  to  the  mess,  and  for- 
getting all  about  the  prayer-meeting,  all  about  the  hospital 
service,  I  would  play  cards  up  to  any  hour  of  the  morning. 
Not  only  that,  but  I  would  very  often  ask  young  officers  to 
play  with  me  who  didn't  want  to  play,  but  who  thought  they 
would  have  to  play  with  a  senior  officer.  I  knew  that  card- 
playing  and  prayer-meetings  on  the  same  night  were  not  right, 
and  I  knew  I  was  getting  no  blessings  out  of  the  prayer- 
meetings.  Things  went  on  in  that  way  for  a  long  time. 
Eventually  I  left  my  regiment,  and  sailed  around  the  world.  I 
was  shipwrecked  once ;  the  boat  ran  into  an  iceberg,  and  it  was 
generally  believed  that  she  was  going  down.  Some  one  came 
up  to  me  in  the  excitement,  and  said,  'Will  you  go  into  the 
saloon  and  join  in  prayer?'  I  said,  'No,  I  will  not;  I  have  not 
obeyed  God  in  my  life,  and  I  am  not  going  to  cry  to  him  now.' 
I  would  have  given  anything  to  cry  to  him,  but  I  could  not. 
I  was  ashamed.  By  hard  work  the  ship  was  saved,  but  the 
impression  of  spiritual  danger  lasted," 


152      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

HOW  ASHLYN  STIRRED  LONDON 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  conversion  of  the  entire  cam- 
paign was  that  of  Quentin  Ashlyn,  a  concert  hall  singer  and 
entertainer.    London  was  stirred  by  his  confession  of  Christ. 

One  day,  while  passing  on  a  bus  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  he 
felt  a  desire  to  go  inside  and  hear  the  evangelists.  He  was 
impressed  by  Dr.  Torrey's  sermon,  but  did  not  surrender  to 
God.  On  returning  home,  however,  he  found  on  the  mantle- 
piece  a  sermon  by  Dr.  Torrey  on  '*Hell.''  He  was  so  stirred 
by  its  delineation  of  the  terrible  doom  awaiting  sinners  that  he 
there  and  then  decided  to  forsake  sin  and  accept  Christ.  Mr. 
Ashlyn  then  wrote  at  once  to  the  manager  of  the  concert  hall 
where  he  was  appearing  and  tbld  him  that  he  had  been  con- 
verted, and  that  he  could  not  continue  his  work  as  a  concert 
hall  entertainer.  The  manager  would  not  release  him  from  his 
contract,  but  declared  he  must  at  least  appear,  but  if  he 
desired,  he  could  go  on  to  the  platform  of  the  hall  and  tell 
the  story  of  his  conversion.  Accordingly  when  his  turn  came 
on  the  program  Mr.  Ashlyn  walked  out  on  the  stage  and  said: 

''I  have  come  to  the  platform  this  afternoon  to  explain  why 
I  am  unable  to  give  the  sketch  included  in  the  program.  The 
reason  is  that  I  have  been  converted  to  God  through  the 
agency  of  the  Torrey- Alexander  ^Mission  at  the  Royal  Albert 
Hall.  I  feel  that  my  life  must  not  be  spent  in  amusing  people, 
but  in  the  service  of  the  Saviour  who  died  for  me.  I  feel  that  I 
cannot  go  on  playing  the  fool  before  men  and  women,  know- 
ing that  many  of  them  are  going  to  destruction."  When  Mr. 
Ashlyn  had  begun  his  speech  the  people  began  to  laugh,  think- 
ing it  was  a  new  witticism,  but  before  he  concluded  they  were 
far  from  laughing. 


WoNDi:Rifui.  Scenes  at  Royai^  Albert  Hai.1.  153 

The  bold  stand  of  the  entertainer  gave  a  new  sensation  to 
the  great  materiaHstic  metropolis.  The  press  contained  long 
interviews  with  him,  while  the  manager  of  the  concert  hall 
was  so  impressed  that  he  offered  his  hall  to  Mr.  Ashlyn,  free 
of  charge,  for  a  week  of  revival  meetings.  The  offer  was 
accepted ;  and  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  present  at  St.  George's 
Hall  on  that  memorable  Sunday  afternoon  when  he  held  his 
first  meeting.  Large  crowds  assembled  outside  the  building  : 
and  when  the  doors  were  opened  the  hall  was  quickly  packed. 
The  majority  of  those  who  sought  admission  were  not  able  to 
get  inside ;  and  a  second  meeting  w^as  held  immediately  follow- 
ing the  first.  Mr.  Alexander,  who  had  been  conducting  a 
meeting  at  the  London  Polytechnic  across  the  street,  was  pres- 
ent and  sang  at  the  second  service. 

A  SINGER  WHO  WAS  TIRED  OF  LIFE 

In  a  simple  but  deeply  affecting  manner  Mr.  Ashlyn  told 
at  the  two  services  how  his  life  had  been  transformed  by  his 
acceptance  of  Christ  as  his  Saviour.    He  said  in  part : 

''I  was  tired  of  getting  out  of  bed  in  the  morning,  tired  of 
dressing  myself,  tired  of  theatres,  tired  of  novels,  tired  of 
going  to  see  my  friends.  Two  of  my  old  concert  hall  friends 
committed  suicide,  and  I  was  almost  ready  to  follow  in  their 
steps.  I  used  to  like  my  profession.  At  one  time  I  was 
rather  proud  of  going  on  this  platform.  I  liked  the  applause, 
and  I  liked  the  money  more.  If  I  could  get  $50  for  the  night 
I  was  pleased;  if  I  could  get  $75  I  was  still  more  pleased;  but 
ere  long  I  was  tired  of  it  all.  But  now  my  life  is  transformed. 
I  wish  there  was  a  window  in  my  soul  so  that  you  could  just 
see  how  full  of  peace  I  am  to-day.'' 


154      Twice  Around  the  Wored  With  Alexander 

When  Mr.  Ashlyn  appealed  for  decisions  for  Jesus  Christ 
two  persons  stood  up.  In  the  evening  he  again  spoke  from 
the  same  platform,  and  the  hall  was  once  more  crowded.  His 
testimony  was  with  power,  and  more  than  twenty-five  per- 
sons confessed  Christ,  including  an  actress.  Throughout  the 
entire  week  Mr.  Ashlyn  conducted  meetings,  and  great  bless- 
ings resulted.  When  it  became  known  that  Mr.  Ashlyn  was 
giving  up  his  profession  he  was  asked  what  his  future  pro- 
fession would  be.  He  replied,  ''It  is  not  in  my  hands ;  he  who 
has  saved  me  will  lead  me,  and  where  he  leads  I  will  follow.'' 
Mr.  W.  T.  Stead,  who  interviewed  Mr.  Ashlyn,  declared  that 
if  half  a  dozen  men,  as  well  known  in  London  as  Quentin 
Ashlyn,  were  to  experience  such  a  revolution  from  boredom  to 
joy,  and  from  misery  to  peace,  and  were  to  proclaim  it  as 
earnestly,  the  whole  city  would  be  shaken  with  a  new  realizing 
sense  of  the  miracle  of  the  Word. 

Not  long  after  his  conversion  Mr.  Ashlyn  gave  a  striking 
comparison  of  his  past  and  his  present  Hfe,  saying: 

''Before  my  conversion  I  was  the  most  miserable  man  in 
London.  I,  who  amused  everybody,  could  not  amuse  myself. 
As  the  years  passed  I  seemed  to  get  worse  and  worse.  Noth- 
ing interested  me.  I  had  heard  my  mother  talk  about  the 
peace  and  joy  she  experienced.  I  did  not  believe  it.  It 
seemed  to  me  there  was  no  such  thing  as  happiness  in  the 
world.  Now  my  heart's  burden  is  gone,  and  I  am  a  new  man. 
I  feel  like  laughing  all  the  day.  My  friends  are  all  wonder- 
ing at  the  change  in  my  looks.  I  am  as  if  I  were  in  a  new 
world." 

Since  his  conversion  Mr.  Ashlyn  has  been  conducting  revival 
meetings,  throughout  England  and  Wales ;  and  large  num- 


WoNDKRFui.  Scenes  at  Royal  Ai^bert  Hai^i,  155 

bers  have  been  led  to  Christ  through  hearing  his  story.  One 
of  his  converts  was  connected  with  one  of  the  best  known  fami- 
Hes  of  the  EngHsh  nobiHty. 

A  notable  feature  of  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  campaign  was 
the  half-hour  song  service,  led  by  Mr.  Alexander  at  the  con- 
clusion of  each  afternoon  and  each  evening  meeting.  He 
began  them  because  the  people  were  so  eager  for  the  Gospel 
songs  that  they  lingered  after  the  metings  were  over  and 
seemed  loth  to  go  home.  He  declared  that  he  had  never  seen 
anything  like  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Albert  Hall  audiences  since 
leaving  Australia.  In  these  song  services  he  frequently  called 
upon  somebody  to  give  a  testimony;  and  the  service  usually 
closed  with  a  solo  by  Mr.  Paul  Gilbert,  during  which  a  second 
invitation  was  given,  in  response  to  which  from  ten  to  twenty 
persons  often  stood  up  to  accept  Christ.  One  afternoon  Mr. 
Alexander  called  upon  his  wife  to  relate  an  incident  of  personal 
work  which  had  occurred  in  London  a  short  time  previous. 
Bravely  ascending  the  crimson-covered  dais,  and  in  a  clear, 
soft  voice  which  carried  to  the  topmost  gallery,  while  a  deep 
silence  fell  over  the  vast  audience  with  her  opening  words, 
she  said: 

FLOWERS  CONQUER  A  HEART 

''I  was  in  London  a  few  days  before  the  work  commenced, 
and  went  into  a  waiting-room,  and  there  saw  a  woman  sitting 
at  the  table,  with  such  a  look  of  bitterness  on  her  face  that  my 
heart  ached  for  her.  I  spoke  to  her,  but  she  shook  me  off  as 
sharply  as  she  could.  I  tried  again,  but  she  rebuffed  me 
again.  I  prayed  in  my  heart  that  God  would  give  me  some 
word  to  say  to  her ;  she  seemed  to  need  love  and  friendship  so 


156      Twicp:  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

much.  Still  she  would  not  hear  me,  and  the  tears  filled  my 
eyes  as  I  turned  away,  her  words  cut  me  so. 

'1  went  out  into  the  street  and  looked  about  for  a  flower- 
shop.  I  could  not  find  one,  but  presently  a  young  girl  came 
along  selling  flowers,  and  I  bought  a  bunch  of  lilies  of  the 
valley.  The  woman  did  not  look  very  pleased  when  I  entered 
the  waiting-room  again.  But  I  went  up  to  her  and  said, 
'Would  you  mind  accepting  a  few  flowers  from  me?'  You 
should  have  seen  the  change  that  came  into  her  face  on  the 
instant.  The  look  of  bitterness  fled.  Then  I  found  the  way 
was  open,  and  that  I  could  speak  to  her.  It  seemed  that  some 
professing  Christians  had  made  her  turn  away  from  the 
Saviour  by  some  act  of  injustice  they  had  done  to  her.  She 
was  judging  the  Lord  by  those  who  were  not  following  him. 

"I  mention  this  that  we  may  all  ask  God  to  make  us  real 
Christians,  so  that  when  we  go  among  other  people  they  may 
know  just  what  we  are  and  no  longer  say  of  us  that  we  are 
merely  professing  Christians." 

THE  DARKY  "NINETY  AND  NINE*' 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  Alexander  called  upon  his  wife  to 
recite  the  beautiful  darky  version  of  "The  Ninety  and  Nine.'* 
She  again  mounted  the  dais  and  recited  it  as  follows : 

"Po*  lir  brack  sheep  dat  strayed  away, 

Done  los*  in  de  win'  an'  de  rain — 
An'  de  Shepherd  he  say,  'O,  hirelin', 

Go  fin'  my  sheep  again.' 
An'  de  hirelin'  say,  'O,  Shepherd, 

Dat  sheep  am  brack  and  bad.' 
But  de  Shepherd  he  smile,  like  dat  lil'  brack  sheep 

Wits  de  onliest  lamb  he  had. 


WoNDERp^uiv  Scene:s  at  Royai.  A1.BERT  HaIvIv  157 

"An'  he  say,  'O,  hirelin',  hasten, 

For  de  wm*  an'  de  rain  am  col', 
An'  dat  lil'  brack  sheep  am  lonesome 

Out  dere,  so  far  f'um  de  foF.' 
But  de  hirelin'  frown,  'O,  Shepherd, 

Dat  sheep  am  ol'  an'  grey.' 
But  de  Shepherd  he  smile,  like  dat  lil'  brack  sheep 

Wus  fair  as  de  break  ob  day. 

"An'  he  say,  'O,  hirelin,'  hasten, 

Lo !  here  is  de  ninety  an'  nine, 
But  dere  way  off  f'm  de  sheepfol' 

Is  dat  lir  brack  sheep  ob  mine'. 
An'  de  hirelin  frown,  'O,  Shepherd, 

De  rest  of  de  sheep  am  here !' 
But  de  Shepherd  he  smile,  like  dat  lil'  brack  sheep 

He  hoi'  it  de  mostes'  dear. 

"An'  de  Shepherd  go  out  in  de  darkness 

Where  de  night  was  col'  an'  bleak, 
An'  dat  lil'  brack  sheep,  he  fin  it. 

And  lay  it  agains'  his  cheek 
An'  de  hirelin'  frown,  'O,  Shepherd, 

Don'  bring  dat  sheep  to  me !' 
But  de  Shepherd  he  smile,  like  dat  lil'  brack  sheep 
An' — dat  lil'  brack  sheep — wus — me." 

As  Mrs.  Alexander  concluded,  tears  were  seen  in  many  eyes, 
and  when  the  mvitation  was  given  a  number  of  veterans  of  the 
Crimean  War  arose  to  confess  their  acceptance  of  Christ. 

•TELL  MOTHER  I'LL  BE  THERE" 
Throughout  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  campaign  the  song  next 
in  popularity  to  the  ''Glory  Song''  was  the  touching  melody, 
''Tell  Mother  Til  Be  There,''  the  chorus  of  which  runs  as 
follows : 


158      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


"Tell  mother  I'll  be  there,  in  answer  to  her  prayer; 

This  message,  blessed  Saviour  to  her  bear; 
Tell  mother  I'll  be  there,  heaven's  joys  with  her  to  share; 
Yes,  tell  my  darling  mother  I'll  be  there." 

This  song  was  used  not  only  as  a  congregational  piece  by 
the  great  audience,  but  its  popularity  was  partly  due  to  its 
beautiful  rendering  as  a  solo  by  Mr.  Paul  J.  Gilbert.  Mr. 
Gilbert  possesses  a  high,  clear,  tenor  voice ;  and,  as  he  sang  the 
hymn  touchingly  and  prayerfully  at  scores  of  meetings,  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  literally  hundreds  of  people  were  led  to  give 
their  hearts  to  God.  Mr.  Alexander  also  used  the  song 
occasionally  as  a  solo.  After  one  such  occasion  he  received 
the  following  letter  from  a  young  man  who  had  been  in  the 
audience  the  previous  night.    He  wrote  : 

''Dear  Mr.  Alexander:  I  feel  that  I  cannot  let  this  day  pass 
without  in  some  measure  thanking  you  for  the  rendering  of 
that  beautiful  solo,  'Tell  Mother  Til  Be  There.'  I  listened 
with  great  interest  to  Dr.  Torrey's  sermon,  'What  shall  it 
profit  a  Man?'  and  in  some  degree  was  convinced  that  I  was 
not  going  straight ;  but  when  you  sang  the  hymn  I  was  struck 
at  once,  and  immediately  you  had  finished  I  went  to  my  apart- 
ments. I  could  not  sleep  at  all,  but  just  as  the  dawn  was 
breaking  I  returned  to  the  Good  Shepherd's  Fold.  I  have 
been  av/ay  from  home  some  time  now,  and  had  determined  to 
go  home  to-morrow  (Saturday)  and  see  my  mother,  and  tell 
her  the  good  news.  I  received  the  enclosed  this  morning,  and 
My  heart  is  almost  breaking — for  I  am  too  late.    It  reads : 

''Dear  John:    Mother  died  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock." 

Undoubtedly  the  prayers  of  that  mother  were  heard  and 
answered  before  she  passed  into  the  presence  of  the  King. 


VVond£:rfuIv  Scenes  at  Royai.  Albert  HaUv  159 

A  WORKINGMAN'S  STORY 

Another  revival  song  wliich  led  to  numerous  conversions 

was  the  one  entitled,  ''In  the  Good  Old  Fashioned  Way."  In 

one  of  the  meetings,  when  testimonies  were  being  given  by 

the  converts,  a  workingman  arose  and  said:     "1  am  an 

uneducated  section  hand,  but  Vm  not  ashamed  of  it.    I  worked 

on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  in  1878.    I  wasn't  converted 

then,  but  since  I  was  converted  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 

instead  of  swearing  while  I  work  I  have  been  singing  'The 

Good  Old  Fashioned  Way.'    My  mates  used  to  call  me 

'Blackguard  Stan';  now  they  call  me  'Converted  Stan.'  One 

of  them  said  to  me  the  other  day,  'What  is  this?    You  used 

to  curse  and  swear ;  now  you  are  singing  all  the  day.    You  are 

happy  and  comfortable.    One  time  you  used  to  come  to  me 

on  a  Monday  morning  to  borrow,  you  now  have  change  in 

your  pocket  at  the  end  of  the  week.    What  is  it  you  have  got  ? 

I  want  a  bit  of  that.'    I  said,  'What  I  have  got  is  good  for 

you,  and  you  can  have  it  the  same  way  as  I  got  it?'    As  the 

section-hand  finished  his  narrative  he  said:    "I  am  always 

singing  the  'Good  Old  Fashioned  Way.'    I'll  sing  it  for  you 

now  if  you  like."    Mr.  Alexander,  smiling  radiantly  at  the 

man,  urged  him  to  do  so  by  all  means.    In  his  rough,  untrained 

voice,  the  man  sang  lustily : 

''I  am  going  home  to  glory, 

In  the  good  old-fashioned  way.'* 

The  happy  face  of  the  man,  and  his  words  which  came  from 
a  heart  overflowing  with  joy,  touched  many  in  the  audience, 
and  were  as  good  as  a  sermon.  There  were  many  working- 
men  in  the  audience,  and  they  were  greatly  impressed.  Sev- 
eral were  moved  to  accept  Christ. 


i6o      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

THE  DEDICATION  OF  A  PIANO 
Another  interesting  convert  was  a  church  organist.  One 
afternoon  after  a  meeting  had  ended,  and  Mr.  Harkness,  the 
pianist  was  locking  up  the  piano,  a  gentleman  stepped  up  to 
him  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  confessed  that  he  was 
leading  an  immoral  life,  although  he  was  an  organist  in  a 
London  church,  and  the  teacher  of  a  Sunday  School  class. 
Mr.  Harkness  talked  earnestly  with  him,  declaring  that  he 
could  get  victory  only  by  a  whole-hearted  surrender  to  Christ. 
The  man  would  not  yield  at  the  time,  however,  but  arranged  to 
return  and  talk  it  over  with  Mr.  Harkness.  Two  days  later 
the  latter  received  a  letter  from  the  organist,  in  which  he  said: 
''Glory  to  God !  I  found  peace  this  morning  at  three  o'clock, 
after  spending  half  the  night  in  prayer.  There  was  a 
tremendous  battle,  but  God  had  the  victory.  Praise  His  Name 
forever.  It  has  been  a  grand  day  for  me  to-day.  I  have  this 
day  surrendered  all  to  Jesus  and  asked  the  Lord  to 

"  'Take  my  hands,  and  let  them  move 
At  the  impulse  of  thy  love.' 

No  more  concerts  or  dance  meetings.  I  have  dedicated  my 
piano  to  the  praise  of  Jesus.    My  heart  is  full  of  singing.'^ 

The  audiences  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  were  composed,  not 
only  of  people  from  every  section  of  London  from  White- 
chapel  to  Mayfair,  but  included  people  from  almost  every  great 
nation  on  earth.  One  night  while  singing,  ''Blest  Be  the  Tie 
that  Binds/'  the  question  was  asked  how  many  different 
nationalities  were  represented  in  the  audience ;  and  it  was 
learned  that  men  and  women  were  present  from  the  following 
countries :  America,  Switzerland,  France,  Germany,  Russia, 
Japan,  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Wales, 


WoNDERFui.  Scenes  at  Royai.  Albert  Hall  i6i 

Holland,  Australia — fifteen  nationalities  in  all  including 
England. 

During  the  two  months'  campaign  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 
which  constituted  the  first  stage  of  the  five  months'  crusade, 
the  names  of  6,500  converts  were  registered.  Lord  Kinnaird, 
the  president  of  the  London  Evangelistic  Council,  in  speaking 
of  the  first  phase  of  the  movement,  said:  ''It  has  exceeded 
our  most  sanguine  expectation.  There  never  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous series  of  meetings  with  so  large  an  attendance.  The 
meetings  of  Moody  and  Sankey  did  not  attract  larger  numbers, 
and  in  no  instance  did  these  missioners  stay  so  long  in  one 
place.  I  think,  too,  that  the  results,  so  far  as  we  can  judge 
them  yet,  are  most  satisfactory.  These  have  proved  our  con- 
tention that  the  people  only  want  the  Gospel  preached  to  them 
by  level-headed  men  and  they  will  respond.  We  have  reached 
the  people  we  intend  to  reach,  and  to  a  most  astonishing 
extent.  I  know  this  to  be  a  fact  for  the  reason  that  I  have 
seen  present  many  of  those  whom  I  have  personally  invited.'' 

The  hearts  of  all  the  leaders  of  the  movement  were  over- 
flowing in  praise  to  God  for  the  glorious  victory.  Dr.  Torrey 
declared  the  meetings  had  been  a  success  beyond  our  utmost 
anticipations."  Mr.  Alexander,  when  asked  for  his  opinion, 
said:  ''The  Mission  has  been  far  beyond  the  expectations 
of  any  of  us,  and  we  have  the  greatest  cause  for  thankfulness 
to  God."  The  Secretary  of  the  movement,  Mr.  John  H. 
Putterill,  declared  that  they  were  "the  most  extraordinary 
series  of  meetings  ever  held  in  this  great  metropolis." 


ALEXANDER  REVIVAL  HYMNS  163 


E.  R.  W. 


Don't  Stop  Praying. 


Edna  R.  Worrell. 


1.  Don't  stop 

2.  Don*t  stop 

3.  Don't  stop 

4.  Don't  stop 

5.  Don't  stop 


pray  -  ing! 


the 
ing  for 
•  ing  when 
pray  -  ing  when  bowed  with 
pray  -  ing    but   have  more 


pray- 
pray- 


Lord 
ev  - 
led 


is 
'ry 
to 


nigh; 
need, 
sin; 
grief; 
trust; 


Don't  stop 
Don't  stop 
Don't  stop 
Don't  stop 
Don't  stop 
_J  


^^^^  E 


pray- ing!  He'll  hear  your 

pray- ing!    the  Lord  will 

pray- ing    that  good  may 

pray- ing!  you'll  get  re  - 

pray- ing!    for  pray  we 


4-- 


cry; 
heed; 
win; 
lief; 
must; 



God     has    prom-ised,  and 

No      pe  -    ti  -  tion  to 

Christ  was  tempt  -  ed  and 

Troub  -  les     nev  -  er  es  - 

Faith  will     ban  -  ish  a 


fc±5=fc 


S  Z  4  9  0 — I — 0 —  0 — 


He      is     true;  Don't  stop 

Him    is     small;  Don't  stop 

un  -  der  -  stands;  Don't  stop 

cape  God's  sight;  Don't  stop 

mount  of     care;  Don't  stop 


pray-  ing! 
pray-  ing! 
pray- ing! 
pray-  ing! 
pray-  ing! 


He'll  an- 
He'll  give 
He'll  hold 
He'll  make 
God 


swer 
you 
your 
it 


you. 

all. 
hands, 
right. 


an  -  swers  pray  r. 


I 


I  was  standing  at  a  bank-counter  in  Liverpool.  England,  waiting  for  a  clerk  to  come.  I 
picked  up  a  pen  and  began  to  print  on  a  blotter  in  large  letters,  two  words,  which  had  gripped 
me  like  a  vice:  "  PRAY  THROUGH."  T  kept  talking  to  a  friend  and  printing  until  I  had 
tlie  big  blotter  filled  from  top  to  bottom  with  a  column.  I  transacted  business  and  went 
away.  The  next  day  my  friend  came  to  see  me,  and  said  he  had  a  strikmg  story  to  tell  me. 
A  business  man  came  into  the  bank  soon  after  we  had  gone.  He  had  grown  discouraged 
with  business  troubles.  He  started  to  transact  some  business  with  the  same  clerk  over  that 
blotter,  when  his  eye  caught  the  long  column  of  "  PRAY  THROUGH."  He  asked  who 
wrote  those  words,  and  when  he  was  told,  exclaimed,  "  That  is  the  very  message  I  needed, 
I  will  pray  through.  I  have  tried  to  worry  through  in  my  own  strength,  and  have  merely 
mentioned  my  troubles  to  God,  now  I  am  going  to  pray  the  situation  through  until  I  get 
light."— Charles  M.  Alexander. 

Words  and  Music  copyrighted,  1906,  by  CHABI^ES  M.  ALEXANDER,  International  copyright  secured. 


i64  Tell  Mother  I'll  be  There. 


C.  M.  F.  Charles  M.  Fillmore. 


^      ^      N  ^ 

.      .      .  1  

-0  ^  ^ 

«  •  • 

•  mm 

1.  When  I 

2.  Though  I 

3.  When  I 

4.  One  dav 

was  but   a    lit  -  tie  child,  how  well  I    rec  -  ol  -  lect 
was  oft  -  en  wayward,  she  was  al-ways  kind  and  good, 
be-came  a  prod  -  i  -  gal,  and  left  the  old  roof-tree, 
a  mes-sage  came  to  me,  it   bade  me  quick-iy  come 

How 

So 

She 

If 

1     :     !  « 

-0 — — — — — - — # 

.      *  * 

*  *  #  *  * 

m 

'  _  J 

J. 

-i  J-  *  * 

-0- 

9  m 

 ^  

^  i 

— V 

 ^  S  V 

-A  ^ 

i 

— V 

\     ^        N  N  ^  N- 

9 

-#  0  «  w- 

-0  • 

0 

 0  0   ^0-,  ^ 

I  would  grieve  my  moth 
pa  -  tient,  gen  -  tie,  lov- 
al-most  broke  her  lov- 
I  would  see    my  moth 

'  er  with 
ing,  when 
ing  heart 

-  er  ere 

mv 
l' 
in 
the 

fol  -  ly    and    neg-lect;  And 
act  -  ed  rough  and  rude;  My 
mourning  aft  -  er  me,  And 
Sav-iour  took   her  home;  I 

% 

•  •  0  w 

-0  * 

0 

0  0 

1  1 

0 

/VS.   ^  .                                                              i                 »               ,  ^ 

0 

!  1 

f  • 

-0- 

^  0    0    0  d 

now  that  she    has  gone    to  heav'n,  I    miss  her  ten  -  der  care, 
child- hood  grief s  and    tri  -  als   she  would  glad  -  ly  with  me  share; 
day    and  night  she  prayed  to  God    to  keep  me    in    His  care; 
prom-ised  her,    be  -  fore   she  died,  forheav^en    to    pre -pare; 


Ooprright.  IS^,  by  FiLLMOBE  Bbos    O^e-i  bj  ChaBUSS  31.  AL^TAVDIR. 


Tell  Mother  VH  be  There.  165 

0       Sav  -  iour,    tell     my    moth  -  er      I'll     be  there! 

W  — — — ^ — r  r  r — pr-^:^=i=^ 

CHORUS. 

tr  p    I?  p  p   p  I? 

Tell  moth-er     I'll    be  there,    in     an  -  swer  to    her  pray'r,  This 


-_J!  0   0  

 \  fc/  

?^1iu-»      J  J  ^  ^  ^  «h-|^ 



-fr-r~t=M — ^ 

— H — 

V — ¥ — V  V 

message.blessed Saviour, to  her  bear!  Tell) 

Ti other  I'll  be  there,heav'n's 

-+^- — PS — ^ 

^^^^  ^  ^  r-'-^-^^- 

cr        1/   U   w  f 

joys  with  her  to  share,  Yes, 

^     ^     0     S     #  ^ 

tell  my  dar-ling  moth-er  I'll  be 

f  f-  f-  f  r  r  f 'f- 

,here. 

-/ — — ^ 

1 66 


Ada  R.  Habershon. 
M    Solo,  or  unison. 


Is  He  Yours? 


Robert  Harkness. 


1.  A  Sav-iour  who  died  our  sal  -  va  -  tion  to    win,     A  Sav-iour 

2.  A  Shep-herd  who  giv  -  eth  His  life  for  the  sheep,    A  Shepherd 

3.  A    Pi  -  lot  who  knoweth  the  dan-gers  at  hand,    A  Pi  -  lot 

4.  A  Shel-ter  from  tem-pest,from  wind  and  from  storm,  A  Shel  -  ter 


who 
both 
who 
from 


-#- 

'0- 


0  p  r 

-O  i 

-1  

1— 1  

r 

-'  ^ 

!     1     !  .. 

knows  how  to  save 

might  -  y    to  save 

bring  -  eth  all  ves  - 

judg-ment,  a  Shel- 


us  from  sin, —  Yes,  He  is  the  Sav-iour,  the 

and  to    keep, — Yes,  this  is  the  Shepherd,  the 

sels  to    land, —  Yes,  this  is  the  Pi  -  lot,  the 

ter  from  harm, — Yes,  this  is  the  Shel  -  ter,  the 


rail. 


a  tempo. 


Sav  -  iour  we  need, 

Shep-herd  we  need. 

Pi  -  lot  we  need, 

Shel-ter  we  need. 


And  He  is  a  Sav-iour  in  -  deed!  .  . 

And  He  is  a  Shep-herd  in  -  deed!  .  .  , 

And  He  is  a  Pi  -  lot    in  -  deed!  .  .  , 

And  He  is  a  Shel-ter    in  -  deed!.., 


m 


I  I 


ft 


^  I 


Copyright,  1905,  by  CHARLES  SI.  ALEXANDER.   Engliih  copyright. 


CHOR 

Is 

US. 

pJ-- — -4  ^-N 

 ^     9  J 

lie?       1  V/  V4  I  O  « 

-t—0 — i^-A-pc^S 

t67 

V 

^^v^t-t — ^ 

Is  He  yours?  .  .     Is  He  yours?  .  .     Is  this Saviour,who loves youjours? 
Is  He  yours  ?  Is  He  yours  ? 


-  f:  #        ^  -m- 

8  •  !^  • 

H 

1 — t^-f-  

i 

He  Will  Hold  Me  Fast. 


*'Thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me."— PsalmScxxxix,  10. 
Ada  R.  Habershon.  Robert  Harkness. 


fast; 
fast; 
fast; 
fast; 


1.  When  I    fear  my  faith  will  fail,  Christ  will  hold  me 

2.  I      could  nev  -  er    keep  my  hold,  He    must  hold  me 

3.  I        am  pre  -  cious  in    His  sight,  He      will  hold  me 

4.  He'll  not  let    my  soul    be  lost,  Christ  will  hold  me 


1  ^4-^  III  J 


rail. 


When  the  tempt-er  would  pre  -  vail, 
For  my  love  is  oft  -  en  cold, 
Those  He  saves  are  His  de  -  light. 
Bought  by  Him  at   such  a  cost. 


He  can  hold  me 
He  must  hold  me 
He  will  hold  me 
He  will  hold  me 


fast, 
fast, 
fast, 
fast. 


w 
m 


Copyright,  1906,  by  CHARLES  M.  ALEXANDER.    International  copyright  secured. 


i68  He  Will  Hold  Me  Fast. 

REFRAIN,  a  tempo. 


1^ 


me  fast, 

hold  me  fast, 


He  will  hold 


He  will  hold  me  fast; 

hold  me  fast; 


i 


i 


-f- 


r  - 

For  my 


Sav- 


iour  loves  me  so, 


He  will  hold  me  fast. 

'ft' 


1 


C.  H.  G. 


Glory  Song. 


Charles  H.  Gabriel. 


#4 


4: 


1.  When  all    my    la  -  bors  and  tri  -  als  are  o'er,       And    I  am 

2.  When  by  the  gift   of    His    in  -  fi  -  nite  grace      I      am    ac  - 

3.  Friends  will  be  there  I    have  loved  long  a  -  go;       Joy  like  a 


-15'- 


I  I 


1 

— 
— 

i  ,  1  1  J  J 

safe  on  that  beau-ti  -  ful  shore, 
cord  -  ed  in  heav  -  en  a  place, 
riv  -  er     a  -  round  me  will  flow; 


Just  to    be  near  the  dear 
Just  to    be  there  and  to 
Yet,  just  a  smile  from  my 
m — ^ 


I     I  I 


Copyright,  1900,  by  E.  O.  EXCELL.   Words  and  Music.   By  per.  E.  O.  EXCELL,  Chicago,  111. 


Glory  Song. 


169 


Lord  I  a  -  dore,  Will  thro'  the  a  -  ges  be  glo  -  ry  for  me.  . 
look  on  His  face,  Will  thro' the  a  -  ges  be  glo  -  ry  for.  me.  . 
Sav  -  iour,  I  know,  Will  thro'  the  a  -  ges  be    glo  -  ry  for  me.  . 


— ^ — — 1 

r# — « — ^ — ^ — ^ — ^ 

1 

rrrr  l — ' 

i 


CHORUS. 

.H7U  !    I  !-^- 


Oh,  that  will  be  glo  -  ry   for   me,  glo  -  ry  for 

Oh,   that  will  be  glo  -  ry    for  me, 


— #- 


me,  glo  -  ry  for  me.  When  by  His  grace  I  shall 
glo .  ry  for  me,  glo  -  ry  for    me,  ,  


i 


-#  »  m- 


look  on  His  face,   That  will  be  glo  -  ry,  be   glo  -  ry  for  me. 


.f — 0 — — — 0 — p — (1 — f. — p 


1^- 


i 


4= 


It 


No  Burdens  Yonder. 


"And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  nei- 
ther sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain;  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away."— Rev.  xxl,  4. 

Ada  R.  Habershon.  Robert  Harkness. 

Quietly. 


S  4 


1.  No  bur  -  dens  yon  -  der, 

2.  No  tri  -  als  yon -der, 

3.  No  toil  -  ing  yon -der, 

4.  No  part  -  ings  yon  -  der, 


not  a  sin-gle  care,  .  . 

all  the  testing  done,  .  . 

and  no  wea  -  ri  -  ness,  .  . 

and  no  sad  good  -  byes,  .  . 


-V— V- 


3 


H«  ^ 


When  home    is  reached. 

The  school-days    o    -  ver. 
No        dis  -  ap  -  point  -  ments, 

No  pain,    no    sick  -  ness, 


noth  -  ing  there  to 
and    the  priz  -  es 
and     no  more  dis  ■ 
and     no  weep-ing 


bear, 
won, 
tress, 
eyes. 


=  

will  be 
in  fur 
all  un 
iour  I 


No  bur  -  dens  yon  -  der,  all 

No  much-tried  faith  like  gold 

The      fu  -  ture  bright,  the  past 

But  best   of    all  my  Sav- 


laid  down,  . 
nace  heat,  . 

der  -  stood, . 
shall  see,  .  . 


The 

We'll 

No 


Copyright,  1906,  by  CHARLES  M.  ALEXANDER.   International  copyright  secured. 


No  Burdens  Yonder.  171 


fore   we  share  His  glo  -  ry  and  His  throne. .  . 

pu  -  ri  -  f y  -  ing  will     all  be  com  -     plete. . .  . 

see    that  all     the  way     He  led  was  good.  .  .  . 

cloud  will  come  be  -  tween  my  Lord  and  me  


- — -^-f-p 

--•-—=1  =  1 

CHORUS,  d  tempo 

-^-^ — — 

-I- 

No        bur  -  dens 
 *^  J**^-^ji — g — 

yon    -  der, 

-i-.  N-J— 

All  sor-row 

past,  .  . 

-*i  ■  n  n  H 

a  tempo, 

— ^1 

-^=^ 

 r 

H  '^-i 

:^  i= 

172  Oh,  What  a  Change! 


Ada  R.  Habershon.  Robert  Harkness. 


1.  Soon  will  our    Sav  -  iour  from  heav-en    ap  -  pear, 

2.  Lone  -  li  -  ness  changed  to      re  -  u  -  nion  com  -  plete, 

3.  Sun  -  rise   will  chase     all     the  dark-ness    a    -  way, 


4.  Weak-ness  will  change    to     mag  -  ni  -  fi  -  cent  strength, 


Sweet  is      the    hope     and  its    pow  -  er  to  cheer; 

Ab  -  sence  ex  -  changed  for      a    place    at  His  feet. 

Night  will    be    changed  to  the  bright-ness  of  day, 

Fail  -  ure   will  change    to  per  -  fee  -  tion  at  length, 


All    will    be    changed  by  a  glimpse  of    His      face — 

Sleep-  ing  ones  raised     in  a     mo  -  ment  of  time, 

Tem  -  pests  will  change    to  in  -  ef  -  fa  -  ble  calm, 

Sor  -  row  will  change    to  un  -  end  -  ing    de  -  light, 


This    is  the     goal      at     the  end    of  our  race! 

Liv  -  ing  ones  changed  to     His  im  -  age  sub  -  lime! 

Weep-ing  will  change    to      a  ju  -  bi  -  lant  psalm! 

Walk-ing  by  faith  change  to  walk  -  ing  by  sight! 


-fL  •  ^  ^ — ^ 

Copyright,  1905,  by  Charles  M.  Alexander.  English  copyright. 


Oh,  What  a  Change!  173 

CHORUS. 


^t^K — ( 

— ^—  ^ — 

 1-.-=— = 

— n — 

 1 

 ^  ^  

— 8  ... 

— 

 — 

Oh, 

what  a 

change. 
Oh, 

><• 

what 

a  change, 

Oh, 

what  a 

1      1  111 

 i 

— b*— 

— y  

— y  

_Sj  



change,    ....    When  I     shall    see  .  .  .    His  won  -  der  -  ful 

Oh,  what  a  change,   


i— *— k- 

— b/ — 1  \  1-  y — 

^    ^ —  ^  — 

^    ^ — V — 

1 — ^=   i"^ — ^ — N  c— , 

face!  . .    Oh,  what  a 

change,  ....     Oh,  what  a 
Oh,  what    a  change, 

1  -  b  b    b  b   1   «  ] 

change,    ....    When   I    shall    see      His       face  I 
Oh,  what    a  change, 


^  •  ^ 

- — 

;  0  1 

.  1  

 :  1  

— — h — h— 

—  ^  1^- 

SOLO  and  CHORUS. 


Shadows. 

Words  and  Music  by  Robert  Harkness. 


i 


tJ  1-  -  "13. 

1.  When  we  cross  the   val  -  ley  there  need  be  no  shad  -  ows, 

2.  When  our  loved  ones  leave  us  there  need  be  no  shad  -  ows 

3.  When  He  comes  to   meet  us  there  need  be  no  shad  -  ows, 


i 


4: 


4^ 


When  life's  day  is  end  -  ed  and  its  sor  -  rows  o'er; 
If  their  faith  is  fixed  in  Je  -  sus  as  their  Lord; 
When  He   comes  in     all    His  glo  -  ri  -  ous     ar  -  ray; 


1  V  — 

m 

J. 

— lr — F — r — .. 
— K  f'' — p^- 

w 

When  the  sum  -  mons  comes  to  meet  the  bless  -  ed  Sav  -  iour, 
For  they  go  to  be  with  Him  who  died  to  save  them, 
When  the  trump  of    God  shall  sound  and  loved  ones  wak  -  en. 


m 


IE 


M 


T 


Copyrijrht,  1906,  by  Chablbs  M.  Alexander,  in  the  TjBited  States  and  Great  Britain. 


Shadows.  175 

When  we  rise  to  dwell  with  Him  for  ev  -  er  -  more. 
To  be  with  the  One  whom  they  have  long  a  -  dored. 
When  He    leads  us     on  -  ward  with  tri  -  umph  -  ant  sway. 


--T- 1     !    J  - 

H  \  -1  

-J — d — n — 

'—5  a«  

^ — 1 

0  

— M 

R  

f  J 

9- 

\  

Pi 



CHORUS. 


^-H  J.  -^^  N 

(f^  d  d  d  

Shad  -  ows!       no    need  of 

y..^      T   ^  0  

shad  -  ows 
r-#  1 

i— #  1^  

When    at  last  we 

-V  5 — — — 

■              1  u  u  ^  — t  ' 

-J — J  *i  t<  J 



— ^  ^  J  ^ — 

lay   life's  bur  -  dens 

-"T?  

down; 

r  ^  1 

Shad -ows I       no  need 

of 
0 

^      If.    I       g  - 

— t-^ — — f 

9  

1 

'  r-^ — t — 

— ' 

XIV 


MEN  AND  CHILDREN  AT  ALBERT  HALL 

Oi^  all  the  meetings  which  the  evangelists  held  at  Royal 
Albert  Hall,  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  were  those 
for  men  only,  and  for  children  only.  Let  me  take  my  readers 
to  a  typical  men's  meeting,  as  held  in  Royal  Albert  Hall  during 
the  London  campaign. 

It  is  seven  o'clock  on  a  wet  Saturday  night,  yet  thousands 
of  men  are  making  their  way  toward  a  common  goal — the 
Albert  Hall.  In  long,  black  lines  they  pour  in  at  the  score  of 
entrances  to  the  huge  structure,  which  holds  ii,ooo  people,  and 
in  a  few  moments  the  arena  and  the  stalls  are  a  solid  mass  of 
black-coated  men,  with  a  plentiful  sprinkling  of  grey  hair  and 
bald  heads.  The  audience  is  not  composed  to  any  extent  of 
callow  youths,  but  chiefly  of  middle-aged  men,  the  backbone  of 
London's  life.  Here  are  members  of  Parliament,  bankers, 
lawyers,  doctors,  soldiers,  postmen,  bakers,  grocers,  vaga- 
bonds— a  heterogeneous  gathering  of  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
the  high  and  the  low.  In  a  few  moments  the  boxes  begin  to  fill 
up  and  the  far-away  upper  balcony.  The  last  seats  in  the 
balcony  are  finally  occupied  by  a  throng  of  hundreds  of 
w^omen,  who  have  been  waiting  patiently  for  an  hour  in  spite 
of  the  rain  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  meeting  has  been 
advertised  ''for  men  only."  Among  them  were  women  who 
belonged  to  the  higher  classes  in  London,  and  others  in 
working  dress. 


178      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

APPLAUSE  FOR  THE  LEADER 

As  Mr.  Alexander,  tall  and  smiling,  makes  his  appearance, 
the  throng  irresistibly  bursts  into  applause.  Mounting  the 
high,  crimson-covered  dais  from  which  the  evangelists  both 
address  the  vast  audience,  he  said:  'Xet  us  begin  having  a 
word  of  prayer.  I  find  we  get  on  better  if  we  have  a  talk  with 
the  Lord  first;  *Our  Father,  bless  us  in  singing  to-night.  May 
many  men  ''touch  the  hem  of  his  garment"  and  find  peace.'  " 

Following  the  prayer  Mr.  Alexander  announced  the  hymn; 
and  as  he  led  the  thousand-voiced  choir  and  the  great  audience, 
with  his  usual  energy  and  graceful  sweeping  movements  of 
arm  and  body,  he  cried  out  between  the  verses :  ''We  are 
going  to  have  victory  to-night The  song  ended,  Mr.  Alex- 
ander read  the  following  letter  he  had  just  received: 

''Dear  Sir:  At  the  Saturday  night  service  for  men  only, 
held  a  fortnight  ago,  a  man  for  whose  conversion  his  wife  had 
prayed  for  eighteen  years  was  saved.  On  the  following  Mon- 
day he  commenced  holding  services  at  his  home,  and  a  lady 
present  asked  for  special  prayer  on  behalf  of  a  mothers'  meet- 
ing at  which  she  was  to  speak  the  following  afternoon.  She 
told  them  that  she  had  been  at  this  mothers'  meeting  time  after 
time,  but  never  had  conversions.  They  prayed  that  she  might 
have  conversions,  and  at  the  meeting  the  following  day  seven 
women  were  saved." 

CAMBRIDGE  MEN  TESTIHED 

After  another  song,  "Stand  Up  For  Jesus,"  which  Mr. 
Alexander  declared  the  men  sang  splendidly,  he  exclaimed: 
"There  are  about  forty  Cambridge  men  here.  I  don't  know 
where  they  are,  for  they  are  scattered  all  over  the  house.  Get 


Men  and  Children  at  Albert  Hall  179 


up  and  give  us  in  one  sentence  the  best  thing  that  ever  hap- 
pened in  your  Hfe." 

There  was  a  pause — (here  it  may  be  stated  that  the  forty 
men  had  come  down  from  Cambridge  University  to  spend  a 
week  at  the  revival  meetings  at  their  own  expense  in  order 
to  do  personal  work) — and  then  one  of  them  arose  and  said: 
'1  haye  received  a  great  blessing  through  doing  personal  work. 
It  straightens  out  your  life.  If  you  want  to  do  personal  work 
you  have  got  to  straighten  out  your  life  and  get  right 
with  God." 

Another  stood  up  and  exclaimed :  ''The  best  day  of  my  life 
was  the  30th  of  October,  1897,  when  I  came  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  my  third  year  at  Cambridge." 

A  third  said :  ''I  gave  my  heart  to  the  Lord  Jesus  when  I 
was  five  years  old.  Since  then  it  has  been  my  purpose  to 
serve  him  in  foreign  lands.  The  greatest  joy  I  ever  had  in  my 
life  was  last  iVugust,  when  first  I  was  the  means  of  bringing  a 
soul  to  Jesus  Christ." 

A  graduate  of  Cambridge,  who  is  now  preaching  the  Gospel, 
the  nephew  of  an  English  millionaire  brewer,  arose  and  said : 
''I  found  the  Lord  when  I  was  up  at  Cambridge,  after  I  had 
taken  my  degree.  Perhaps  the  most  wonderful  thing  that 
happened  to  me  was  when  I  found  that  one  might  be  sanctified 
and  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  'That's  Barclay-Buxton," 
cried  Mr.  Alexander.  "If  you  don't  know  him  you  ought  to 
get  acquainted  with  him." 

"I  have  found  that  it  is  only  by  personal  work  one  can  keep 
close  to  the  Lord,"  exclaimed  another,  and  so  the  testimonies 
continued.  The  most  diffident  seemed  moved  to  tell  of  their 
religious  experience. 


I 


i8o      Twice  Around  thk  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


ANXIOUS  FATHERS  HEARD 
Following  this  inspiring  series  of  experiences  Mr.  Alexander 
announced,  ''Where  is  My  Wandering  Boy  To-night?''  and 
the  vast  concourse  joined  lustily  in  the  singing.  "Fling  open 
your  hearts  and  let  in  Jesus  Christ  to-night/'  he  exclaimed 
between  the  verses  of  the  song.  ''Does  that  begin  to  get  hold 
of  your  heart,  and  are  you  trying  to  harden  it?  Don't  do  it! 
Let  your  heart  open  up,  and  let  in  your  mother's  Saviour 
to-night.  You  may  have  bolted  and  barred  your  heart  for 
forty  or  fifty  years,  but  fling  it  open  to-night  and  let  him  in ! 
Let  him  in !" 

fathers  who  have  an  unsaved  son  to  sing  that  last  verse. 
There  may  not  be  more  than  a  dozen  or  two  of  you,  but  sing 
it,  if  you  have  a  son  you  would  like  to  see  saved.  It  doesn't 
matter  if  he  is  away  off  in  China  or  India,  or  where  he  is,  the 
Lord  can  reach  him."  Then,  not  from  a  dozen,  but  from  hun- 
dreds of  throats,  there  arose  in  plaintive,  pleading  tones  that 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes,  a  subdued  but  strong  volume 
of  sound  from  the  fathers  in  the  audience  who  had  wandering 
boys  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  face  of  the  earth : 

"Go  for  my  wandering  boy  to-night; 

Go,  search  for  him  where  you  will; 
And  bring  him  to  me  with  all  his  blight. 
And  tell  him  I  love  him  still." 

The  last  strains  of  the  song  had  not  died  away  before  Mr. 
Alexander  led  the  throng  into  the  chorus  of  "Tell  Mother  I'll 
Be  There,"  the  song  which  had  been  second  in  popularity  to 
the  "Glory  Song"  from  the  commencement  of  the  Royal  Albert 
Hall  revival.  Heartily  the  choir  and  audience  sang : 
"Tell  mother  I'll  be  there,  in  answer  to  her  prayer." 


Men  and  Ghii^drkn  at  Albert  Hali,  18^: 


Just  before  the  sermon  the  choir  and  the  congregation  united 
in  singing  the  ''Glory  Song."  As  the  thousands  of  male 
voices  united  in  singing  the  famous  song,  the  effect  was  over- 
whelming. The  mighty  volume  of  melody  roared  in  one's 
ears,  "as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunderings." 

DR,  TORREVS  FETCHING  SERMON 

The  half  hour's  song  service  was  now  over;  and  after  the 
notices  and  one  or  two  prayers,  before  which  several  requests 

for  prayer  were  read.  Dr.  Torrey  ascended  the  dais  and  for 

nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour  pleaded  most  earnestly  and 

passionately  with  his  vast  audience  to  surrender  to  the  love  of 

God  and  yield  themselves  to  Christ.    The  address  was  not 

rhetorical  or  oratorical.     It  was  not  filled  with  glowing 

imagery,  nor  spiced  with  much  humor,  but  from  the  first  it 

was  convincing  and  convicting.    Every  man  in  the  great 

audience  felt  the  preacher  was  absolutely  sincere.    Dr.  Torrey 

spoke  as  one  having  authority,  not  with  a  vain  show  of  words, 

''but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."    He  closed 

abruptly,  and,  after  a  brief  prayer,  called  for  decisions.  In 

ringing  tones  he  exclaimed,  "I  want  to  ask  every  man  in  the 

building,  old  or  young,  who  will  here  and  now  yield  to  the  love 

of  God,  who  will  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  your  personal  Saviour, 

surrender  to  him  as  your  Lord  and  Master,  begin  to  confess 

him  as  such  publicly  before  the  world,  and  live  from  this  time 

on  to  please  him  in  everything  day  by  day — every  one  who  will 

thus  accept  Jesus  Christ  to-night  stand  up,  all  over  the 

building." 

There  was  a  pause.  Then  a  man  arose  and  Dr.  To.Tey 
exclaimed,  "God  bless  you,  sir."    Then  in  every  part  of  the 


i82      TwicK  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exandkr 

huge  building  men  began  rising,  singly  and  in  twos  and  threes, 
and  for  several  minutes  Dr.  Torrey  was  kept  busy  repeat- 
ing, *'God  bless  you — and  you — and  you — and  you,  my  boy — 
and  you,  sir — and  you — and  you — I  can't  keep  track  of  you  all : 
as  you  rise  just  say  'I  will,'  and  we  can  hear  even  if  I  do  not 
see  you/'  For  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  the  men  continued  to  rise 
to  their  feet  and  then  resume  their  seats  in  response  to  Dr. 
Torrey's  appeal.  Then,  while  the  audience  was  hushed  and 
silent  before  God  at  the  wonderful  manifestation  of  his  pres- 
ence and  power,  Mr.  Alexander  said  that  instead  of  singing  an 
entire  hymn  as  usual,  he  merely  wished  to  sing  one  verse — the 
third — of  that  noble  hymn,  "When  I  Survey  the  Wondrous 
Cross/'  Many  eyes  were  wet  with  tears  as  he  sang  touchingly : 

"See !  from  his  head,  his  hands,  his  feet 
Sorrow  and  love  flow  mingled  down! 
Did  e'er  such  love  and  sorrow  meet, 
Or  thorns  compose  so  rich  a  crown?** 

A  THRILLING  SCENE 
Dr.  Torrey  now  called  upon  those  who  had  stood  up  before, 
and  any  others  who  would  accept  Christ,  to  ''rise  and  remain 
standing."  As  they  arose  to  the  number  of  250  and  300,  there 
arose  a  chorus  of  ''Amens" !  and  "Hallelujahs" !  from  hearts 
overflowing  with  joy  at  the  glorious  victory.  While  the 
audience  remained  seated,  Dr.  Torrey  asked  all  those  who  had 
risen  to  move  out  into  the  aisles  and  corridors  and  come  down 
to  the  front  of  the  building,  and  there  confess  Christ  publicly 
before  their  fellowmen.  It  was  a  heavy  ordeal,  but  the  men 
faced  it  bravely,  and  presently  long  lines  of  men,  old  men, 
young  men  and  boys,  were  streaming  down  to  the  platform.  It 


Men  and  Children  at  Albert  Hall  183 


was  a  magnificent  and  thrilling  spectacle,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  sights  ever  witnessed  in  a  religious  gathering 
in  London.  While  the  men  were  coming  to  the  front  some 
one  in  the  audience  started  Lord,  send  the  power  just  now," 
and  all  united  in  the  chorus : 

"O  Lord,  send  the  power  just  now! 
O  Lord,  send  the  power  just  now ! 
O  Lord,  send  the  power  just  now ! 
And  baptize  every  one!" 

In  a  few  moments  about  250  men  were  standing  closely 
packed  together  around  the  platform,  extending  out  on  each 
side  and  down  the  centre  aisle  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  Facing 
the  audience,  they  repeated  after  Dr.  Torrey  in  ringing  tones, 
*'I  have  taken  Jesus  as  my  Saviour,  my  Lord,  and  my  King." 

Seats  were  now  cleared  at  the  front  of  the  building  for  those 
who  had  confessed  Christ,  and  a  worker  sat  down  by  the  side 
of  each  to  pray  with  the  new  convert  and  explain  the  Way  of 
Life  more  clearly.  Now  came  the  usual  five  minutes  for  per- 
sonal work,  during  which  hundreds  of  workers  went  through 
the  audience,  pleading  earnestly  with  young  and  old  to  make 
the  great  decision  at  once.  As  moment  after  moment  passed, 
numerous  workers  who  had  obtained  victory  came  down  to 
the  front,  each  bringing  one  or  two  men  or  boys  with  him. 

The  five  minutes  concluded.  Dr.  Torrey  arose  and  delivered 
his  customary  address  to  the  converts  gathered  at  the  front. 

Following  this  the  entire  audience,  in  recognition  of  the 
wonderful  victory  of  the  evening,  united  in  singing  'Traise 
God  from  Whom  all  Blessings  Flow,"  many  singing  as  they 
never  had  before. 


i84      Twici:  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


STILL  THEY  LINGERED 

The  meeting  proper  was  now  over,  and  a  part  of  the 
audience  dispersed.  The  remainder,  however,  stayed,  and  a 
fervent  and  inspiring  song  service  was  held  for  half  an  hour. 
Before  the  gathering  finally  broke  up,  Mr.  Alexander  told  how 
all  grades  of  people  had  been  reached  during  the  eight  weeks' 
revival,  including  the  son  of  a  peer,  a  colonel  in  the  English 
army,  atheists,  infidels  and  clergymen,  a  London  concert  hall 
singer,  and  so  forth.  He  then  called  upon  Mr.  G.  W.  Brad- 
shaw,  one  of  the  most  prominent  bankers  in  London,  who  had 
been  seen  almost  nightly  doing  personal  work  in  the  meet- 
ings to  say  a  few  words  to  the  converts.  Mr.  Bradshaw  said : 
"The  hard  time  for  you  young  Christians,  is  coming  on  Monday 
morning.  I  am  a  business  man,  and  know  the  difficulty  of  con- 
fessing Christ  in  the  office.  The  tenth  chapter  of  Romans 
tells  us  that,  'If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead,'  we  shall  not  be  ashamed.  God  is  going,  to 
be  right  back  of  you  on  Monday  morning." 

Slowly  and  with  evident  reluctance,  singing  revival  hymns 
as  they  went,  the  audience  finally  left  the  great  building,  and 
the  night  of  victory  came  to  an  end. 

Wonderful  meetings  for  the  children  of  London  were  held  in 
Albert  Hall  on  two  Saturday  afternoons.  On  each  occasion 
about  12,000  boys  and  girls  and  their  guardians  were  present, 
and  at  the  two  meetings  1,300  stood  up  to  confess  Christ.  The 
first  Saturday  afternoon  the  crush  was  so  great  that  thousands 
were  unable  to  obtain  admission.  The  people  seemed  deter- 
mined to  stay  even  if  they  could  not  gain  an  entrance  to 
the  edifice. 


Men  and  Chii^dren  at  Ai^bert  Hali,  185 


THREE  JEWISH  GIRLS  SING 

At  the  second  meeting  an  event  occurred  which  had  a  most 
touching  and  beautiful  sequel.  The  favorite  song  with  the 
children  always  was  the  ''Sunbeam  Song."  While  the  twelve 
thousand  people  were  singing  this  song  lustily,  Mr.  Alexander 
noticed  in  the  front  seats  three  little  poorly  clad  Jewish  girls 
who  were  singing  with  all  their  might  the  song  about  Jesus. 
Quickly  stopping  the  multitude  with  a  word  and  a  wave  of  his 
hand,  Mr.  Alexander  called  the  three  children  up  to  the  dais 
upon  which  he  stood,  and  putting  his  arms  around  them,  asked 
them  to  sing  the  chorus  of  the  ''Sunbeam  Song"  alone. 
Bravely  the  little  girls — two  of  them  eight  and  one  seven  years 
of  age — sang  the  refrain : 

sunbeam,  a  sunbeam, 
Jesus  wants  me  for  a  sunbeam; 
A  sunbeam,  a  sunbeam, 
I'll  be  a  sunbeam  for  him." 

and  when  they  had  concluded  the  great  throng  burst  spontane- 
ously into  applause.  Mr.  Alexander  presented  each  of  the 
three  little  girls  with  a  copy  of  his  hymn  book,  and  in  each 
he  wrote: 

With  my  love, 
For  singing  at  the  Children's  Meeting 
At  the  Royal  Albert  Hall. 
Charles  M.  Alexander. 
II.  Timothy  2:  15. 

Upon  making  inquiry  I  found  that  the  little  girls  were  mem- 
bers of  a  party  of  twenty  Hebrew  children  who  had  been 
brought  from  the  poor  Whitechapel  district  by  a  Christian  lady. 
Before  the  meeting  concluded  eleven  of  the  twenty  stood  up  to 


i86      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


confess  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  Two  days  later  Mr.  Alexan- 
der received  the  following  letter  from  the  lady  who  had 
brought  the  children  to  the  hall : 

''Dear  Mr.  Alexander:  I  should  so  like  you  to  know  that 
the  second  of  the  three  little  Jewish  girls  you  called  up  to  sing 
to-day  is  a  real  little  sunbeam  at  home.  She  was  in  the  big 
blue  cape;  her  name  is  Fanny  Shmolefsky.  Her  father  has 
been  in  America  for  a  year  now,  and  the  mother  and  four  chil- 
dren have  a  hard  struggle,  but  Fanny's  faith  helps  her  mother 
through  many  a  dark  hour.  The  other  day  the  mother  said, 
'I  couldn't  help  crying  a  little — not  much,  for  I  did  trust  my 
Heavenly  Father — but  I  just  had  notice  to  quit  from  the  land- 
lord, and  didn't  know  what  we  should  do.  Fanny  came  in  and 
asked  why  I  was  crying,  and  said,  'Mummy,  have  you  forgotten 
our  Father  in  Heaven?  Let  us  pray.'  So  down  she  went  on 
her  little  knees,  and  told  God  how  lonely  and  friendless  and 
helpless  we  were,  and  that  she  was  only  a  little  girl  and  could 
not  help,  but  he  was  her  big  Father  in  Heaven  who  could  do 
everything.  Would  he  have  pity,  and  answer,  and  help.'  The 
answer  came  before  the  week  was  over,  in  the  form  of  a 
lodger  girl,  who  paid  for  half  the  room. 

''There  has  been  a  work  going  on  in  many  of  the  children's 
hearts  for  a  long  while,  and  some  of  them  have  been  caned  in 
the  Jewish  day  school  for  coming  to  my  class.  To-day  brought 
them  to  a  decision,  and  I  am  just  overflowing  with  joy  and 
thankfulness  to  God.  Yours  sincerely  in  Him." 

Mr.  Alexander  read  this  letter  to  the  thousands  at  one  of  the 
Albert  Hall  meetings;  and  as  he  finished  tears  were  flowing 
and  handkerchiefs  were  being  used  in  every  part  of  the  hall. 

But  this  is  not  the  end  of  the  story.    A  day  or  two  later, 


Men  and  CHII.DREN  AT  AlvBERT  HaI,I,  187 

Mr.  Alexander  received  a  letter  containing  $i.oo  from  a  mem- 
ber of  his  choir  who  was  a  servant  girl.  Others  also  sent  in 
contributions,  and  quickly  a  sum  of  $25.00  was  raised  for  the 
destitute  family. 

A  GUMPSE  OF  THEIR  HOME 

A  few  days  later  I  went  over  to  the  Whitechapel  district,  and 
found  Mrs.  Shmolefsky  and  her  children  in  two  small  rooms  on 
the  fourth  floor  of  a  big  tenement  building,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Jewish  quarter  in  London.  The  mother's  clothes  were  in 
tatters ;  and  she  and  the  children  had  lived  for  a  year  largely  on 
bread  and  tea,  as  the  husband  had  sent  back  only  a  meagre 
sum  since  he  had  gone  to  America.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries 
about  her  history  and  her  religion  Mrs.  Shmolefsky  told  me 
that  they  had  come  to  London  from  Russia  thirteen  years 
before,  and  that  it  was  after  they  had  been  in  London  for  about 
eight  or  nine  years  that  she  had  become  a  Christian,  through 
the  instruction  of  a  medical  missionary  to  the  Jews.  She 
declared  that  although  she  was  so  poor,  yet  she  was  rich  in  her 
four  children  and  grateful  to  God  for  his  gift  of  them.  With 
glowing  face  and  shining  eyes  she  told  me  how,  when  Fanny 
came  home  from  the  children's  meeting  at  the  Albert  Hall, 
she  sang  all  the  revival  hymns  she  had  heard  at  the  meeting, 
even  imitating  Mr.  Alexander's  actions  as  he  led  the  great 
multitude  in  Gospel  song.  Then  in  her  broken  English  she 
said:  '*You  may  not  believe  me,  gentlemen,  but  I  tell  you 
truth.  That  night,  when  we  were  all  in  bed  sleeping,  I  waked 
up  and  saw  my  Fanny  sitting  up  in  bed  and  crooning  softly  to 
herself  those  beautiful  songs  once  more."  • 

Truly  in  a  wonderful  way  God  rewarded  that  little  Jewess's 
faith.    First  the  lodger  girl  came ;  then  the  child  was  given  the 


i88      Twice  Around  the:  VVori^d  With  Axexanddr 

honor  of  singing  to  twelve  thousand  people  in  the  Royal  Albert 
Hall ;  and  third,  the  family  were  provided  for  for  many  weeks 
to  come.  The  entire  incident  brings  to  one's  mind  with  new 
force  the  beautiful  words  of  Jesus  in  Matthew  i8:  3-4:  ''Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  chil- 
dren, ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Who- 
soever, therefore,  shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the 
same  is  greatest  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 


XV 


STORMING  SOUTH  AND  CENTRAL  LONDON 

During  the  last  three  months  of  the  London  campaign  the 
revival  meetings  were  held  in  great  iron  and  glass  tabernacles 
in  South  London  and  on  the  Strand,  the  latter  in  the  heart  of 
the  metropolis.  The  South  London  structure  stood  on  the 
corner  of  Brixton  Road  and  Acre  Lane,  in  the  centre  of  the 
district  known  as  Brixton.  The  big  building  contained  5,500 
seats,  and  was  almost  or  quite  filled  each  night  during  the  eight 
weeks'  series  of  meetings,  while  often-times  many  hundreds 
were  unable  to  obtain  admission.  The  keynote  of  the  work 
in  South  London  was  the  intense  enthusiasm  with  which  hun- 
dreds of  Christian  people  engaged  in  personal  work  in  soul 
winning.  Not  only  in  the  Tabernacle  did  they  plead  with 
men,  women  and  children  to  accept  Christ,  but  they  did  per- 
sonal work  everywhere  else.  In  one  of  the  revival  meetings  a 
foreman  in  an  omnibus  yard  arose  and  told  how,  in  the  harness- 
room  of  the  stables,  he  had  the  joy  of  leading  a  bus-driver  to 
Christ. 

CRICKET  CLUB'S  TRANSFORMATION 
Another  young  man  in  the  audience  then  sprang  to  his  feet, 
and  said  that  the  friend  who  had  previously  spoken  had  told  of 
something  which  had  happened  above  ground,  but  that  he  had 
had  the  privilege  of  leading  a  man  to  Christ  who  was  working 
far  below  ground  where  they  were  constructing  London's  sew- 
ers.   Among  the  most  enthusiastic  personal  workers  in  South 


190      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

London  were  the  captains  of  two  cricket  teams  who  had  been 
converted  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall.  One  of  them  came  to  me 
with  a  glowing  face,  and  said  that  eleven  members  of  his 
cricket  club  had  accepted  Christ.  The  other  captain  also 
informed  me  that  eight  of  his  team  had  publicly  confessed 
Christ,  and  that  the  converts  were  going  to  hold  a  prayer- 
meeting  to  pray  for  the  unsaved  members  of  his  team.  These 
are  but  few  examples  of  hundreds  throughout  London  who 
were  set  on  fire  to  do  personal  work  for  Christ  within  their 
own  circle  of  influence. 

Revival  melodies  seemed  to  be  the  only  songs  one  heard  in 
the  streets  or  in  the  homes  throughout  the  South  London 
campaign.  Grocers'  boys  and  telegraph  messengers  whistled 
them  as  they  went  on  their  rounds ;  policemen  hummed  them 
on  their  beats.  Often  as  the  doors  of  the  great  tabernacle 
stood  open  the  songs  rendered  by  the  great  audiences  could  be 
heard  a  long  distance  away.  One  evening  a  young  man  was 
standing  in  a  crowd  on  the  street,  waiting  to  get  into  the 
theatre  opposite  the  tabernacle,  when  he  heard  the  great 
audience  within  singing  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus  Name.'' 
As  a  boy  he  had  been  in  the  village  choir ;  but  since  going  to 
London  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  had  gradually  drifted  away 
from  God.  When  he  heard  that  hymn  it  recalled  the  memories 
of  better  days,  and,  leaving  the  crowd,  he  came  across  to  the 
tabernacle,  listened  to  the  sermon,  and  gave  his  heart  to  God. 

WHERE  "GLORY  SONG"  WAS  HEARD 
The  world-wide  popularity  of  the  "Glory  Song"  was  shown 
in  a  striking  manner  at  a  meeting  in  the  great  South  London 
tabernacle.    Mr.  Alexander  requested  those  present  to  tell  of 


Storming  South  and  Centrai,  London  191 

the  different  places  where  they  had  heard  the  song;  and  one 
after  another  arose  and  said  they  heard  it — *'in  a  church  of 
England";  ''over  the  telephone'';  ''in  a  warehouse";  down  in 
a  coal  mine" ;  "on  a  street  organ" ;  "on  the  lower  deck  of  a 
steamer" ;  "at  a  Welsh  revival  meeting,  where  it  brought  fifty 
men  to  Christ" ;  at  Port  Said,"  and  "on  the  Thibetan  border." 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  London  campaign  was  the  fact 
that  visitors  often  came  from  long  distances  and,  having  caught 
the  fire,  carried  the  revival  flame  back  to  their  own  lands  and 
their  own  communities.  Four  German  gentlemen  while  travel- 
ing in  Switzerland  read  in  the  Swiss  daily  papers  accounts  of 
the  great  movement  in  London,  came  to  England  to  see  it  with 
their  own  eyes,  and  went  back  to  Germany  to  spread  the  fire 
among  their  own  fellow  countrymen.  A  French  count  was 
brought  to  the  meetings  by  a  member  of  the  English  nobility, 
was  converted,  and  returned  to  France  to  witness  for  Christ. 

A  lady  left  her  home  in  Scotland  to  attend  the  meetings  for  a 
few  days,  but  became  so  interested  that  she  devoted  herself  day 
and  night  for  nearly  three  months  to  doing  personal  work. 
She  was  the  means  of  leading  over  a  hundred  persons  to 
accept  Christ  before  she  returned  to  her  native  land. 

DRAWING-ROOM  MEETINGS 
An  officer  in  the  British  Army  arose  in  a  meeting  in  the 
South  London  tabernacle,  and  told  how,  after  attending  some 
of  the  revival  meetings  in  the  Albert  Hall  campaign,  his  heart 
had  been  filled  with  an  overwhelming  desire  to  save  souls.  He 
returned  to  his  home  in  Ireland,  and,  together  with  his  wife, 
started  a  series  of  drawing-room  revival  meetings.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  he  gave  Gospel  talks  to  men  in  a  neighboring 


192      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexandre 

schoolhouse.  Numerous  conversions  were  the  result,  and  one 
case  was  especially  noteworthy.  It  was  that  of  a  gentleman, 
the  nephew  of  a  viscount  who  had  been  leading  a  thoroughly 
Godless  life.  In  describing  the  gentleman's  conversion,  the 
officer  said :  ''1  told  him  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  me,  and 
he  accepted  Christ  then  and  there.  'Now,'  I  said  to  him,  'you 
want  to  confess  Christ;  you  had  better  come  to  our  next 
drawing-room  meeting.'  He  came  to  the  next  drawing-room 
meeting,  and  publicly  confessed  Christ.  He  at  once  gave  up 
fishing  on  the  Sabbath,  and  gave  up  swearing — although  pre- 
viously, his  clerk  said,  he  used  to  swear  the  roof  off  almost 
if  he  only  lost  a  paper ;  and  started  to  spending  all  his  money 
on  Bibles,  Concordances,  Testaments  and  tracts.'' 

Another  beautiful  feature  of  the  movement  was  the  fact  that 
thousands  of  children  were  filled  with  fervid  zeal  to  win  others 
to  Christ.  On  three  different  occasions  one  little  girl  walked 
seven  miles  to  attend  the  meetings  in  the  tabernacle ;  and  each 
time  brought  a  little  friend  with  her.  Another  litle  girl  went 
home  from  one  of  the  meetings  and  filled  the  house  with  the 
melody  of  the  ''Sunbeam  Song.''  Her  drunken  father  was 
struck  by  the  words  of  the  hymn.  He  said,  ''I'm  not  much  of 
a  sunbeam,  am  I,  wife?  But,"  he  said,  '*if  that  little  thing  is 
going  to  be  a  sunbeam  for  Jesus,  it  is  about  time  I  began  to 
shine  up."    And  he  gave  his  heart  to  God. 

The  revival  movement  was  not  by  any  means  confined  to 
the  great  mass  meetings  conducted  by  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Alexander.  The  fire  kindled  there  led  to  the  starting  of 
scores  of  local  meetings  throughout  the  great  metropolis.  Even 
the  famous  village  greens  in  and  about  London  were  often 
taken  possession  of  for  open-air  services.    After  attending 


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Storming  South  and  Ckntrai,  London  195 

the  revival  meetings,  a  group  of  Christians  from  a  suburb  of 
London  went  back  to  their  homes,  fired  with  a  desire  to  do 
something  in  their  own  village.  Although  they  could  not 
preach  they  decided  on  singing  on  the  village  green.  God  so 
blessed  them  that  in  ten  days  there  were  sixty  conversions; 
and  the  whole  church  was  filled  with  the  glory  of  Christ. 

During  the  South  London  campaign  the  names  of  about 
5,000  converts  were  recorded.  At  the  closing  meeting  Lord 
Kinnaird  thanked  the  great  choir  most  heartily  for  the  splendid 
service  throughout  the  crusade ;  and  made  the  significant 
statement  that  even  yet  people  did  not  fully  realize  the  power 
there  is  in  sacred  song.  He  said:  ''I  believe  that  of  all 
modern  discoveries,  the  power  of  sacred  song,  and  the  power  of 
a  choir  to  help  forward  revival  work  is  only  just  being  found 
out  by  the  Christian  Church  at  large.  We  hope  you  will  all 
go  back  to  your  churches  and  missions  and  schools,  more  on 
fire  than  you  have  ever  been  before,  and  take  the  inspiration  to 
your  homes  and  districts,  so  that  you  may  have  during  1905 
a  greater  number  of  converts  in  London  than  London  has  ever 
seen.  Why  should  we  be  behind  Wales?  If  Wales  has  a 
hundred  thousand  converts,  why  should  not  London?  We 
thank  God,  however,  that  this  is  only  the  beginning.'* 

THE  NOVEL  LOST  ITS  ATTRACTION 
The  meetings  in  the  Great  Hall,  Strand,  located  in  the  very 
heart  of  London,  during  the  last  month  of  the  campaign,  were 
services  of  power  and  victory.  Over  2,500  converts  were 
recorded,  the  great  majority  being  adults.  After  the  first 
week,  when  it  rained  nearly  all  the  time,  the  tabernacle,  seat- 
ing between  5,000  and  6,000,  was  practically  filled  each  night. 


196      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

The  audiences  were  composed  of  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
unsaved  than  were  those  in  either  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  or 
in  South  London.  Scores  of  unemployed  men,  with  which 
London  teemed  at  this  time,  drifted  into  the  meetings,  unsaved, 
and  went  out  rejoicing  in  Christ  as  their  Redeemer. 

An  infidel  girl  went  into  a  meeting  in  the  Strand  Hall,  deter- 
mining to  show  her  defiance  by  reading  a  novel  during  the  ser- 
vice. Her  attention  was  caught  by  Mr.  Alexander's  stopping 
the  singing  of  the  song,  ''His  Grace  is  Sufficient  for  Me,''  to 
ask  a  party  of  blind  people  if  God's  grace  was  sufficient  for 
them  in  their  affliction.  The  happy  ''yes"  from  the  sightless 
people  profoundly  impressed  her;  and  she  followed  Dr. 
Torrey's  sermon  closely,  was  deeply  convicted  of  sin  and 
accepted  Christ. 

Three  milkmen  accepted  Christ  one  night  when  the  invita- 
tion was  given  at  the  Strand  Hall.  Their  employer's  custom 
had  been  to  give  each  man  ten  quarts  of  milk,  with  instruc- 
tions to  make  twelve  quarts  of  it  by  giving  their  customers 
short  measure.  After  accepting  Christ,  they  went  the  next 
morning  to  their  employer,  told  him  that  they  were  Chris- 
tians, and  that  they  could  not  consent  to  give  short  measure 
any  more.  Without  a  word  each  man  was  given  the  full 
twelve  quarts,  and  continued  to  receive  them  from  that  day. 

How  deeply  thousands  of  young  men  in  London  were 
affected  by  the  movement  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  they  were 
not  afraid  to  show  their  colors  in  public.  A  young  lady  who 
went  to  business  every  day  by  train  declared  she  saw  numbers 
of  young  men  each  morning  reading  their  Bibles  in  the  train 
on  their  way  to  work,  and  often  being  laughed  at  for  doing  it. 
She  said  it  had  all  come  about  since  the  revival. 


STORMING  bOUTH  AND  CKNTRAI,  LoNDON  I97 

THE  BIRTH  OF  A  HYMN 

A  few  clays  before  the  movement  in  the  Strand  ended,  a  new 
Gospel  song  was  added  to  Mr.  Alexander's  collection  of  revival 
hymns,  which  achieved  instant  popularity.  It  was  entitled, 
''Oh,  What  a  Change'' !  The  words  were  written  by  a  lady 
already  widely  known  for  her  sacred  verse,  Miss  Ada  R. 
Habershon.  She  was  a  worker  in  the  campaign,  and  heard 
Dr.  Torrey  speak  one  afternoon  upon  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  She  was  much  impressed  by  the  Doctor's  words ;  and 
on  returning  home  wrote  the  beautiful  lines  of  the  hymn,  the 
first  verse  and  chorus  of  which  are  as  follows : 

"Soon  will  our  Saviour  from  heaven  appear, 
Sweet  is  the  hope  and  its  power  to  cheer; 
All  will  be  changed  by  a  glimpse  of  his  face— 
This  is  the  goal  at  the  end  of  our  race. 

Chorus 

Oh,  what  a  change  I    Oh,  what  a  change ! 
When  I  shall  see  his  wonderful  face ! 
Oh,  what  a  change  !    Oh,  what  a  change ! 
When  I  shall  see  his  face." 

Soon  afterwards  Miss  Habershon  handed  the  lines  to  Mr. 
Harkness  with  the  request  that  he  set  them  to  music.  During 
Dr.  Torrey's  sermon  one  night,  as  the  pianist  scanned  the  lines, 
he  had  an  inspiration ;  and  pulling  from  his  pocket  a  piece  of 
paper  jotted  down  the  melody.  The  hymn  was  quickly  printed, 
as  originally  written,  without  any  alteration  whatever,  and 
delighted  every  one  who  was  privileged  to  hear  it.  During 
the  last  days  of  the  campaign  on  the  Strand  it  was  sung  on  an 
average  of  at  least  once  in  each  meeting.  . 


198      Twice:  Around  the:  Wori^d  With  Alexander 


A  GRAND  FAREWELL 

The  great  five  months'  crusade  came  to  an  end  with  a  historic 
meeting  for  praise  and  thanksgiving  held  in  the  Royal  Albert 
Hall.  Ten  thousand  people  gathered  in  the  great  structure, 
where  so  many  victories  for  Christ  had  been  won,  to  give  God 
the  glory  for  the  wonderful  success  of  the  entire  movement. 
The  memorable  gathering  lasted  nearly  four  hours.  It  was 
presided  over  by  Lord  Kinnaird;  and  the  great  audience 
included  members  of  the  nobility,  members  of  Parliament,  lead- 
ing bankers,  professional  men,  prominent  English  clergymen, 
editors,  and  men  of  affairs.  It  was  announced  during  the 
evening  that  202  meetings  had  been  held  in  the  course  of  the 
campaign,  attended  by  1,114,650  persons,  giving  an  average 
attendance  at  each  service  of  about  5,500.  Best  of  all,  how- 
ever, was  the  fact  that  the  number  of  converts  recorded  since 
the  beginning  of  the  movement  exceeded  17,000. 

During  the  evening  brief  addresses  were  delivered  by  Lord 
Kinnaird,  Mr.  W.  G.  Bradshaw,  Rev.  F.  S.  Webster,  Pastor 
Thomas  Surgeon,  and  by  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander. 

Lord  Kinnaird  gave  utterance  to  the  joy  which  filled  the 
hearts  of  the  committee  at  the  successful  conclusion  of  the 
great  crusade.  He  declared  that  one  of  the  best  features  of 
the  work,  next  to  the  great  number  of  converts,  was  the  fact 
that  so  many  had  been  inspired  to  do  personal  work.  In 
speaking  of  one  person  whom  God  had  blessed  in  this  form  of 
work,  he  said :  ''A  lady  set  herself  to  work,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  campaign,  on  one  family,  and  the  result  is  that  the  father 
and  mother  and  three  children,  all  of  ripe  years,  have  been 
brought  to  a  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  so  far  as  we  can  know. 
How  happy  she  must  be  this  evening!" 


Storming  South  and  Ckntrai^  London  199 

SHEAVES  GATHERED  IN  LONDON 

One  of  the  most  interesting  addresses  of  the  evening  was 
that  of  Mr.  W.  G.  Bradshaw,  the  second  in  command  of  the 
great  London  City  &  Midland  Bank,  who,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  gave  a  glowing  summary  of  the  great 
movement.    He  said  in  part : 

''We  have  reached  to-night  the  last  meeting  of  what  has 
been,  I  suppose,  the  greatest  revival  campaign  held  in  London 
since  the  days  of  Mr.  Moody ;  and  we  are  gathered  here  with 
very  mingled  feelings.  On  the  one  hand,  we  are  sad  that  the 
happy  service  of  the  last  five  months  has  come  to  an  end.  On 
the  other  hand,  our  hearts  are  full  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  the  great  blessings  he  has  sent  us.  'The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.'  The  cam- 
paign has  been,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  a  wonderful  suc- 
cess. Overflowing  congregations  have  gathered  day  by  day  to 
listen  to  the  simple  Gospel  preached  in  the  plainest  terms,  until 
they  have  aggregated  over  a  million  souls.  More  than  four- 
teen thousand  men  and  women  (seventeen  thousand,  including 
the  children,)  drawn  from  all  classes  of  society,  have  accepted 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  their  Lord  and  their 
King.  For  five  months,  more  than  ten  thousand  Christian 
workers  have  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  cause  of  the 
Gospel  with  unbroken  harmony  and  brotherly  love.  The  old 
truths — the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  power  of  the  Lord  to  save  and  to  keep  any  one 
who  will  put  his  trust  in  him — have  been  pealed  forth  with  no 
uncertain  sound,  and  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  they  still 
retain  their  hold  upon  the  masses  of  the  population.  Thou- 
sands have  had  their  faith  strengthened,  their  hopes  revived, 


200      Twice  Around  the  Wored  With  Alexander 

their  zeal  rekindled.  The  responsibility  upon  every  Christian 
of  taking  part  in  the  great  work  of  winning  souls  to  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  been  emphasised  and  brought  home  in  a  way 
which  I  think  has  never  been  equalled  before." 

Rev.  F.  S.  Webster,  in  speaking  of  Mr.  Alexander  and  the 
revival  melodies,  said :  *'You  have  taught  us  the  'Glory  Song/ 
and  London  streets  and  alleys  and  mews  and  the  riverside — 
all  are  echoing  with  inspiring  strains.  The  women  of  our 
mothers'  meeting  were  singing  it  this  afternoon  on  the  river 
at  Hampton  Court;  and  the  children  at  their  treat  Thursday 
were  shouting  it  on  the  railway  train,  and  on  the  sea  at 
Clacton.  And  last  Tuesday  I  sang  it  with  a  great  company 
round  the  open  grave  of  one  of  our  chief  workers,  whose  hus- 
band was  a  worker  in  the  after-meetings  in  this  hall.  And 
the  'Glory  Song'  seemed  to  be  equally  in  place,  both  at  the 
school  treat  and  the  funeral.'' 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  part  of  the  entire  meeting,  how- 
ever, was  the  music.  Mr.  Alexander  led  the  choir  and 
audience  with  such  enthusiasm  and  buoyant  energy  that  one  of 
the  speakers  declared  he  looked  more  as  if  he  were  beginning 
a  five  months'  campaign  rather  than  ending  one.  The  new 
revival  hymn,  ''Oh,  What  a  Change !"  was  sung  with  thrilling 
power  and  effect  by  the  vast  assembly.  As  the  ten  thousand 
people  reached  the  high  note  at  the  end  of  the  chorus,  the 
great  multitude  was  electified.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  set 
program  the  people  seemed  loth  to  leave;  and  for  nearly  an 
huor  thereafter  Mr.  Alexander  led  them  in  Gospel  song. 

The  meeting  finally  concluded  with  the  great  audience's 
uniting  in  singing  "Praise  God  From  Whom  All  Blessings 
Flow" ;  and  thus  the  wonderful  campaign  came  to  end. 


Storming  South  and  Central  London 


201 


GRAMOPHONE  ENLISTED 

The  revival  hymns  of  Mr.  Alexander  had  so  captivated 
London  during  the  five  months'  crusade  that  the  manager  of  a 
big  Gramophone  Company  sent  repeated  requests  to  him  to 
sing  his  songs  into  the  gramophone,  and  so  send  the  hymns  all 
over  the  British  Empire.  Finally  the  manager  became  so 
urgent  that  he  came  to  the  Gospel  singer's  room  one  morning 
and  pleaded  his  cause  with  all  his  might.  He  declared  that 
untold  good  could  be  accomplished  through  making  the  gramo- 
phones sing  the  Gospel  message  day  and  night,  everywhere,  to 
all  classes  of  people.  He  declared  he  had  requests  for  the 
records  from  India,  Australia,  and  all  other  parts  of  the 
British  Empire. 

Mr.  Alexander  finally  agreed  to  make  some  records,  pro- 
vided the  manager  did  not  pay  him  a  penny  and  would  pub- 
licly announce  that  such  was  the  case,  in  order  that  people 
could  not  say  he  was  doing  it  for  money. 

Shortly  aftervv^ards  Mr.  Alexander  went  to  the  offices  of  the 
Gramophone  Company  (known  as  the  Victor  Talking  Machine 
Company  in  America,)  and  after  earnest  prayer  made  a 
number  of  records  including  "The  Glory  Song";  ''Tell  Mother 
ni  Be  There" ;  "The  Old  Time  Religion" ;  "The  Ninety  and 
Nine" — embracing  the  "Darky  Version"  recited  by  Mrs. 
Alexander;  and  "The  Sunbeam  Song" — with  the  story  of 
Fanny  Shmolefsky. 

As  the  manager  of  the  company  predicted,  the  records  have 
since  been  used  to  accomplish  a  vast  amount  of  good  all  over 
the  world.  Over  two  years  after  the  records  were  made, 
when  I  asked  Mr.  Alexander  what  he  had  heard  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  songs  through  this  medium,  he  said : 


202      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^kxander 

**They  have  been  much  used  in  England  by  the  Colporters  on 
their  Gospel  wagons,  as  they  go  through  the  country.  'Tell 
Mother  Fll  Be  there'  has  been  especially  helpful  in  reaching 
crowds  of  men  that  would  gather  at  such  places. 

HEARD  IN  LONELY  AFRICA 

"A  friend  of  mine  in  London,  a  short  time  ago,  told  me  of  a 
missionary  who  was  in  a  lonely  part  of  Africa  in  a  boat  with 
some  natives  going  up  the  river  in  the  twilight  in  the  lonely 
hill  country,  v/here  he  was  sure  no  white  man  lived,  to  visit  the 
grave  of  his  wife,  whom  he  had  buried  there  long  ago.  Sud- 
denly there  on  the  hillside  he  heard  familiar  strains  coming 
out  clearly  and  distinctly.  He  thought  he  knew  what  they 
were.  As  he  came  closer  he  found  it  was  a  gramophone 
ringing  out  the  'Glory  Song.'  The  gramophone  had  been 
purchased  by  some  natives  from  white  traders. 

''On  the  ocean  between  Australia  and  America  a  Methodist 
preacher  told  me  of  an  old  man  who  attended  one  of  his  coun- 
try congregations,  who  heard  that  I  had  sung  these  songs  in 
the  gramophone.  He  immediately  purchased  one  of  the 
machines  and  all  the  records  I  had  made.  The  old  man  was 
not  a  good  talker,  but  loved  to  reach  people  and  bring  them  to 
Christ  in  whatever  way  he  could.  He  would  take  his  gramo- 
phone on  his  back;  and  he  and  his  wife  would  trudge  many 
miles  across  the  country,  visiting  the  lonely  school-houses  and 
churches,  where  he  would  give  people  these  songs  and  stories. 
He  said  he  had  often  seen  the  tears  running  down  his  cheeks 
while  listening  to  the  darky  version  of  the  'Ninety  and  Nine' 
recited  by  my  wife,  or  to  the  story  of  what  'Tell  Mother  I'll 
Be  There'  had  done  in  reaching  a  wayward  boy." 


XVI 


CLOSING  MISSIONS  IN  ENGLAND 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  London  Mission,  Mr.  Alexander 
went  to  America  to  take  part  in  a  Christian  Workers'  Con- 
ference at  Northfield,  Mass.,  while  Dr.  Torrey  spent  the 
summer  in  Germany.  In  September,  1905,  they  returned  to 
England;  and  began  the  three  closing  missions  at  Sheffield, 
Plymouth  and  Oxford,  prior  to  going  to  America  at  the  end 
of  the  year. 

These  closing  missions  were  particularly  interesting,  because 
of  the  special  classes  reached  at  each  place.  At  Sheffield  the 
work  was  largely  among  the  thousands  of  employes  of  the 
great  cutlery  factories  famous  the  world  over;  at  Plymouth 
they  were  in  the  midst  of  thousands  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  in 
the  forts  and  on  the  warships  in  the  harbor;  while  at  Oxford 
splendid  work  was  done  among  the  students  in  the  great 
University. 

ZEAL  AMONG  TOILERS 
The  Sheffield  meetings  were  held  in  Albert  Hall  in  the 
afternoon,  and  in  the  big  Drill  Hall  seating  about  5,000  at 
night.  Over  3,500  confessed  Christ  during  the  four  months' 
crusade.  The  most  striking  feature  of  the  work  was  the 
zeal  for  soul  winning  that  came  upon  some  of  the  converts 
from  the  factories.  One  man  working  in  a  big  warehouse  was 
converted  and  filled  with  such  holy  fervor  that  he  led  about 
25  others  to  Christ  in  the  establishment  before  the  meetings 


204      Twice:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exandkr 

closed.  Following  their  conversion,  a  number  of  young  men 
were  so  enthusiastic  to  win  others  for  Christ  that  14  of  them 
formed  a  Gospel  Band,  and  hired  a  hall  in  which  to  carry  on 
their  work  of  soul  saving. 

One  afternoon  a  special  train  brought  to  Sheffield  300 
Liverpool  people  who  were  chiefly  members  of  the  Torrey- 
Alexander  choir  during  the  evangelistic  campaign  in  that  city. 
The  people  marched  to  the  Drill  Hall,  singing  revival  melodies. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  evening  service,  they  formed  in  a 
body  and  marched  from  the  Drill  Hall  to  Victoria  Station, 
making  the  night  air  resonant  with  the  Gospel  message  in  song 
as  they  marched.  All  along  the  route  people  came  to  their 
doors  and  leaned  out  of  upper  story  windows  to  v/itness  the 
unusual  sight  and  hear  the  hymns.  Many  hearts  were 
touched ;  and  it  may  be  that  some  soul  was  born  again,  as  the 
result  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the  visiting  choir. 

STREET  MEETING  FOR  WORKINGMEN 

Three  of  the  most  interesting  visitors  to  the  Sheffield 
Mission  were  Mr.  Alexander's  mother,  sister  and  brother, 
whom  he  had  invited  to  England  for  a  month's  sojourn.  On 
two  occasions  during  the  mission  Mr.  Alexander  conducted 
immense  open-air  meetings  at  the  noon  hour  for  workmen  in 
the  foundries  and  factories.  At  one  of  these  meetings,  held 
just  outside  of  the  armor-plate  works  of  Vickers  Sons  and 
Maxim,  his  mother  was  present.  The  Gospel  singer  stood 
with  thirty  or  forty  members  of  his  choir  on  two  lorries  placed 
end  to  end ;  and  within  a  few  moments  a  large  crowd  of  about 
2,000  persons  had  gathered.  As  the  men  streamed  out  of  the 
gates  of  the  big  ironworks  they  quickly  collected  around  the 


CivOSiNG  Missions  in  England  205 

lorries;  and  in  a  short  time  the  street  was  a  solid  mass  of 
people  listening  reverently  and  intently  to  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage spoken  and  sung  by  Mr.  Alexander.  The  singing 
evangelist  opened  the  meeting  with  a  solo,  ''Tell  Mother  I'll 
Be  There";  and  then  took  the  famous  hymn  as  a  text  for  a 
straight  ten-minute  talk  to  the  men,  in  which  he  pleaded  with 
them  to  give  their  hearts  at  once  to  Jesus  Christ.  His  appeal 
went  straight  to  the  tenderest  place  in  their  hearts — the 
memories  of  their  mothers.  In  the  course  of  his  talk  he  said  : 
'Teople  say  to  me,  'Why  do  you  have  so  many  mother  songs?' 
Because  everybody  has  a  mother;  and  a  good  little  mother 
who  used  to  get  the  Bible  down  and  read  and  pray  with  you 
is  a  fine  thing  to  have  in  your  memory.  I  have  brought  my 
little  mother  here ;  she  had  never  seen  one  of  our  open-air 
meetings,  though  way  down  among  the  hills  of  Tennessee  she 
had  been  reading  about  them ;  and  I  want  to  say  to  you  men 
that  one  of  the  greatest  joys  of  my  life  is  to  get  down  on  my 
knees  beside  my  mother  and  pray  with  her. 

PRAYED  WITH  MOTHER 
"The  other  night  before  we  started  out  for  the  meeting,  we 
got  down  on  our  knees  and  had  a  word  of  prayer  that  God 
would  bless  the  people  and  bring  many  a  mother's  boy  to 
Christ.  When  we  arose,  mother  looked  up  into  my  face  and 
said,  'Oh,  Charlie  that  was  good.'  I  tell  you  it  meant  more 
than  anything  else  I  could  have  done  for  her.  And  if  we  get 
some  letters  started  away  from  some  of  you  to-night  saying, 
*  Mother,  I  accepted  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour  at 
an  open-air  meeting  to-day;  I  went  down  there  to  have  a 
good  time,  and  I  did  have  a  good  time,  for  I  left  the  devil  and 


2o6      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^kxander 

came  to  Christ/  how  good  it  will  be !  There  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  not.  Hasn't  the  old  master  given  you  a  bad  time? 
I  never  knew  anybody  in  the  churches  yet  that  he  did  not. 
Will  you  not  change  masters  to-day  and  come  over  on  to  our 
Master's  side?''  At  the  conclusion  of  his  talk,  Mr.  Alexander 
gave  an  invitation  to  accept  Christ  then  and  there,  and  four  or 
five  hands  were  uplifted  in  response.  The  evangelist  then 
closed  the  meeting,  but  they  were  so  interested  that  they  were 
loth  to  leave,  and  one  man  called  out,  ''We  do  not  mind  losing 
another  'quarter'  to  have  some  more." 

During  their  stay  at  Sheffield  one  of  the  daily  papers  gave 
a  graphic  word  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Alexander 
gets  hold  of  a  crowd  and  makes  them  sing :  "That  vast  plat- 
form choir  he  holds  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  They  respond 
to  his  slightest  gesture  like  magic ;  they  watch  and  know  every 
change  of  his  mobile  countenance,  even  when  he  smiles,  they, 
too,  smile  a  collective  smile.  This  is  leadership.  Energy 
seems  to  flow  out  from  his  very  finger  tips.  He  is  like  a 
creature,  to  quote  a  phrase  of  Augustine  Birrell's,  that  emits 
sparks  and  electric  shocks  at  every  moment.  Whether  the 
music  was  that  of  the  familiar  'Glory  Song,'  or  whether  it  was 
the  glorious  strains  of  'When  I  Survey  the  Wondrous  Cross,' 
the  infinite  variety  of  tone  and  manner  which  marked  the 
singing  had  its  origin  in  his  dominating  figure." 

SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  REACHED 

The  mission  at  Plymouth  resulted  in  about  3,700  public  con- 
fessions, and  made  its  influence  felt  throughout  the  entire 
world.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Plymouth  there  are 
numerous  barracks  and  fortifications ;  and  in  the  harbor  there 


Closing  Missions  in  England  207 

are  usually  a  number  of  warships,  in  which  about  25,000 
soldiers  and  sailors  are  commonly  stationed.  The  meetings 
were  held  in  the  same  drill  hall  in  which  Mr.  Moody  had  held 
a  mission  nearly  thirty  years  before.  For  the  Torrey-Alex- 
ander  Mission,  however,  it  was  made  nearly  one-half  larger. 
It  held  about  6,000  persons,  but  was  none  too  large.  Fre- 
quently hundreds  were  turned  away  after  the  hall  was  filled. 

Night  after  night  the  meetings  were  attended  by  large 
numbers  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  many  of  them  found 
Christ.  The  red  coats  of  the  soldiers  and  the  blue  jackets 
of  the  sailors  made  splashe^  of  color  throughout  the  audience, 
which  lent  a  gay  appearance  to  the  throng ;  while  at  the  front, 
right  against  the  platform,  Mr.  Alexander  had  a  splendid 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Choir.  Their  favorite  song  throughout 
the  mission  was  'Xean  on  His  Arms" ;  and  it  was  worth  going 
a  long  distance  to  hear  them  sing  it.  At  a  word  from  the 
singing  evangelist,  the  Army  and  Navy  Choir  would  stand 
up  and  sing  the  verses  lustily,  while  the  big  audience  joined  in 
on  the  chorus. 

Almost  every  night  several  of  the  red  coats  or  blue  jackets 
would  go  forward  to  confess  Christ.  At  the  Royal  Marine 
Barracks,  where  1,200  men  were  stationed,  there  were  found 
only  ten  real  Christians  when  the  meetings  began ;  while  a 
short  time  after  the  meetings  closed  there  was  a  band  of 
seventy  Christians,  and  they  held  an  enthusiastic  meeting  with 
the  Commandant  in  the  chair. 


MARINERS  TURN  PLEADERS 

Throughout  the  mission  none  others  were  more  enthusiastic 
in  the  personal  work  than  the  soldiers  and  the  sailors.    It  was 


2o8      TwicK  Around  mt  WorIvD  With  Ai^exander 


a  beautiful  sight  to  see  a  big.  stalwart  marine  going  about  the 
audience,  Bible  in  hand,  pleading  with  his  comrades  to  accept 
Christ.  A  midshipman  on  a  battleship  confessed  Christ,  and 
worked  earnestly  for  his  comrades.  On  another  warship  about 
a  dozen  converts  formed  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society;  and 
one  of  them  wrote  back  from  a  foreign  port,  telling  of  the 
splendid  meetings  they  were  having  on  shipboard. 

A  corporal,  who  after  having  been  converted  early  in  the 
meetings  was  transferred  to  another  post,  wrote  back  telling 
of  the  change  that  had  come  into  his  life : 

"I  do  miss  the  Mission.  I  have  told  many  about  the 
glorious  evenings  we  used  to  spend  at  the  Mission.  When  I 
find  anything  a  bit  trying  coming  across  my  path,  I  think  of 
that  little  chorus,  'A  Little  Talk  With  Jesus  Makes  It  Right,' 
and  I  can  safely  say,  with  my  little  experience  on  the  Lord's 
side,  that  he  does  make  it  right,  when  I  go  to  the  Lord  in 
prayer;  and  I  often  burst  right  out  with,  'Praise  the  Lord 
for  I  feel  so  happy.'  I  often  wonder  how  I  could  have  been  so 
blinded  to  go  and  serve  the  devil  as  long  as  I  did ;  but,  praise 
God,  my  eyes  are  open  now,  and  I  am  going  to  try  my  best  to 
make  up  for  my  bad  time  with  the  devil,  by  trying  to  get 
others  from  his  terrible  grasp.  I  remember  the  Mission  in 
prayer  when  I  pray,  for  I  believe  in  prayer  and  plenty  of  it." 

*  AMONG  DOCK- YARD  PEOPLE 

Excellent  work  was  also  done  among  the  thousands  of 
employes  of  the  Royal  Navy  Dock  Yards,  at  Devonport  and 
Stone  House.  On  two  occasions  the  evangelists  went  out  to 
address  the  men  at  the  noon  hour,  and  at  one  meeting  thirty 
confessed  Christ.    On  still  another  occasion,  Mr.  Alexander 


Closing  Missions  in  England 


209 


conducted  an  open-air  meeting  just  outside  the  gates  of  the 
dock  yards,  at  which  nearly  2,500  were  present.  God's  Spirit 
was  there  in  power;  and  nearly  a  score  raised  their  hands  in 
declaration  of  their  acceptance  of  Christ. 

As  a  result  of  the  Mission,  one  seventeen-year-old  lad  was 
so  fired  with  zeal  that,  although  he  worked  in  the  dock  yard 
about  ten  hours  a  day,  he  was  accustomed  to  spend  one  hour 
and  a  half  daily  reading  his  Bible.  In  a  letter  written  a  short 
time  after  the  Mission  had  closed,  he  told  how  the  work  of 
grace  was  still  going  forward : 

''The  'fire'  is  still  ablaze.  In  all  the  little  villages  and  towns 
the  sheafs  are  being  gathered  in.  At  the  prayer  and  testimony 
meetings  held  in  connection  with  the  Mission,  large  numbers 
have  taken  Christ.  On  H.  M.  S.  Hibernia,  the  ship  on  which 
I  am  at  present  working,  quite  a  revival  has  sprung  up  among 
the  workmen,  several  finding  Jesus  in  the  gloomy  depths  of  a 
modern  battleship.  The  'Glory  Song'  is  heard  everywhere. 
The  songs  of  the  theatre  are  superseded  by  the  favorites  of  the 
Alexander  Hymn  Book.  Over  a  score  of  boys,  whom  I 
regard  as  friends,  have  taken  Jesus  as  their  Saviour  during 
the  Mission.  I  read  the  Bible  about  an  hour  and  a  half  a  day; 
and  every  word  I  read  from  it,  and  every  text  I  learn,  makes 
me  a  happier  boy;  while  a  word  spoken  for  the  Master  fills 
my  heart  with  joy." 

Rarely,  if  ever,  have  I  seen  greater  enthusiasm  in  soul  win- 
i  ning  than  was  displayed  by  the  soldiers  and  the  sailors  during 
i  the  closing  days  of  the  Mission.  Here  is  the  way  in  which 
-  some  marines  spent  a  Saturday  afternoon  and  night.  Twenty- 
v  Six  marines  started  out  about  two  o'clock,  walked  several 
miles  to  a  neighboring  village,  and  spent  the  afternoon  parad- 


2IO      Twice  Around  the;  World  With  AIvKxander 

ing  the  streets  and  holding  brief  open-air  meetings  at  street 
corners.  Then  they  had  tea,  and  walked  back  to  the  Drill 
Hall,  singing  revival  hymns  as  they  marched.  In  the  meet- 
ings they  did  active  personal  work  as  usual,  and  when  it  was 
over  went  on  to  a  Soldiers'  Home,  where  they  attended  two 
prayer-meetings.  The  second  meeting  teminated  just  before 
twelve  o'clock;  and  they  reached  the  barracks  gates  just  before 
they  closed  at  midnight. 

WORST  CHARACTERS  RECLAIMED 

In  addition  to  those  connected  with  the  Army  and  the  Navy, 
some  of  the  worst  characters  in  Plymouth  were  transformed. 
When  Mr.  Alexander  called  for  testimonies  one  day  a  man 
arose  and  said:  ''I  have  been  the  biggest  drunkard  that  'the 
Three  Towns'  can  show.  I  have  not  entered  a  chapel  for 
thirty  years.  I  have  lost  my  wife  and  children.  I  lost  a 
situation  at  $20  a  week.  I  lost  all  my  friends.  I  almost  lost 
my  sight — through  sin,  but  I  thank  God  that  he  brought  me 
here  on  Thursday  night.  I  met  a  man  who  said,  'Where  are 
you  going?'  I  said,  'I  am  going  to  hear  Torrey  and  Alex- 
ander.' He  said,  'Don't  go  there,  they  are  humbugs,  they 
only  want  your  money.'  I  said,  'I  have  got  none  for  them ;  it 
is  all  gone  in  drink.'  And  God  looked  on  me,  a  vile,  unworthy 
sinner,  and  accepted  me.  I  hope  that  one  and  all  of  you  will 
take  warning  by  me." 

At  another  meeting,  a  man  who  was  perhaps  the  most 
notorious  character  in  the  city,  arose  and  said  in  response  to 
Mr.  Alexander's  request  for  testimony : 

"I  thank  God  to-night  that  I  am  here  and  able  to  confess  to 
my  fellow  tradesmen;  that,  although  I  have  been  one  of  the 


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CivOSiNG  Missions  in  Engi^anO 


213 


most  notoriously  evil  men  in  'the  Three  Towns/  a  marine  led 
me  to  Christ  last  Thursday  evening  in  the  gallery  of  this  hall. 
I  have  been  one  of  the  worst  men  that  ever  stood  in  two 
shoes — a  curse  to  my  wife  and  family.  I  have  brought  my 
little  son  14  years  of  age  with  me  to-night,  to  teach  him  a 
lesson  which  I  hope  will  last  him  to  the  day  of  his  death.I  was 
brought  up  by  good,  respectable  parents.  I  have  a  Bible  here 
to-night  given  to  me  on  my  tenth  birthday  in  Greenock,  Scot- 
land. I  am  very  glad  to  think  that  it  is  doing  me  good.  I 
am  proud  to  say  that  I  am  no  more,  *T.W.'  the  notorious,  but 
I  am  'T.W.'  a  child  of  God,  since  last  Thursday.''  There  was 
much  rejoicing,  when,  during  the  after-meeting,  his  fourteen- 
year-old  son  was  among  the  number  who  accepted  Christ 

MISSIONS  IN  UNIVERSITY  TOWNS 
At  Oxford,  the  Mission  lasted  only  a  fortnight,  but  during 
that  time  eight  hundred  people  professed  to  accept  Christ ;  and 
no  one  can  estimate  the  ultimate  results  of  the  movement.  A 
number  of  students  in  the  University  came  out  clearly  for 
Christ,  while  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander  did  much  per- 
sonal work  with  the  students  in  their  rooms. 

It  was  Mr.  Alexander's  privilege  to  do  a  notable  work 
among  the  students  at  Cambridge  as  well  as  at  Oxford  Uni- 
versity. A  few  months  previous  he  had  gone  to  Cambridge  to 
hold  services  in  public  and  in  the  rooms  of  the  students  during 
Saturday  and  the  Lord's  day;  and  there  occurred  one  of  the 
most  memorable  scenes  in  the  religious  history  of  the 
University. 

Mr.  Alexander's  visit  was  arranged  for  by  the  Cambridge 
Inter-Collegiate  Christian  Union.    He  was  entertained  at 


214      Twic^  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai.e:xandbr 

Trinity  College;  and  spoke  at  five  conferences  and  meetings 
during  his  brief  stay.  On  Saturday  evening  he  addressed  a 
select  body  of  students,  on  ''Personal  Work  in  Soul  Winning/' 
He  did  not  preach  at  the  men,  but  talked  to  them  of  their  duty 
in  this  matter,  plainly  and  directly. 

Mr.  Alexander  urged  the  men  to  surrender  themselves  abso- 
lutely to  God,  and  to  begin  personal  work  at  once.  Then  he 
threw  the  meeting  open;  and  asked  those  who  had  not  been 
doing  personal  work  as  they  should  have  done  in  the  past, 
but  would  engage  heartily  in  it  in  the  future,  to  stand  up,  and 
publicly  declare  their  purpose  before  the  others.  There  was  a 
pause.  Mr.  Alexander's  words  had  gone  home  in  an  extra- 
ordinary manner;  and  the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  room 
was  intense.  God's  Spirit  was  working  in  power.  After  a 
moment,  a  young  undergraduate  arose ;  and  in  a  voice  choked 
with  emotion  declared  that  he  had  not  done  soul  winning 
because  of  sin,  but  that  hereafter,  with  God's  help,  he  was 
going  to  engage  in  it  at  any  cost.  A  moment  later  another 
arose,  confessed  in  like  manner;  and  in  tense  tones  declared 
his  new  determination.  Then,  for  twenty  minutes,  men  stood 
up  in  all  parts  of  the  room,  confessing  their  past  failure  and 
publicly  declaring  that  they  would  become  active  soul  winners 
in  the  future.  It  was  a  deeply  affecting  scene;  and  no  one 
can  estimate  its  influence  on  the  religious  life  of  the  University. 

A  NOTABLE  SERVICE 

It  had  been  arranged  for  a  well  known  speaker  to  students. 
Major  Liebenrood,  to  address  the  students  in  Victoria  Assem- 
bly Rooms  on  Sunday  evening;  but  it  was  planned  to  put  the 
after-meeting  into  Mr.  Alexander's  hands  immediately  follow- 


Closing  Missions  in  England 


215 


ing  the  address.  The  hall  was  filled  with  a  magnificent  body 
of  about  500  students — men  who  in  coming  years  would  be 
the  leaders  of  England. 

In  taking  charge  of  the  meeting,  Mr.  Alexander  talked 
briefly  to  the  men  and  then  sang,  ''Would  You  Believe?''  Fol- 
lowing this  he  asked  Mr.  Paul  Gilbert  to  sing  ''Tell  Mother 
ril  Be  There." 

Then  he  called  for  decisions — not  half  hearted  ones,  but  full 
surrender  to  Christ.  A  moment  elapsed  and  no  one  arose. 
Then  the  power  of  God  was  felt;  and  in  quick  succession 
twenty  men  stood  up.  Still  Mr.  Alexander  pleaded,  while  Mr. 
Gilbert  sang  the  refrain  again  and  again.  Gradually  another 
and  yet  another  arose,  until  the  number  reached  thirty-five. 
But  even  the  public  confession  in  arising  did  not  entirely 
satisfy  Mr.  Alexander.  He  broke  through  precedent  at  staid 
Cambridge,  by  asking  the  men  to  come  boldly  up  to  the  front 
and  publicly  declare  their  faith.  Every  man  responded — 
indeed  one  more  than  had  previously  arisen;  and  it  was  a 
thrilling  sight  to  behold  thirty-six  men  march  up  to  the  front, 
turn  around  and  face  their  fellow  students,  and  in  ringing  tones 
declare  their  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour,  Lord  and 
King. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  general  meeting  Mr.  Alexander 
and  Major  Liebenrood  went  to  the  room  of  a  post-graduate, 
where  about  thirty  students  gathered,  and  for  an  hour  Mr. 
Alexander  led  the  men  in  a  wonderfully  inspiring  service. 

LIVERPOOL'S  GOOD-BYE 

As  Dr.  Torrcy  and  Mr.  Alexander  were  about  to  leave 
Great  Britain  for  America,  a  great  farewell  meeting  was 


2i6      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

arranged  in  Liverpool.  It  was  held  in  the  big  Tournament 
Hall,  where  many  victories  of  the  Cross  had  been  achieved 
through  the  agency  of  the  evangelists.  Fully  ten  thousand 
people  were  present;  and  speeches  were  delivered  by  Christian 
leaders  from  a  number  of  cities  in  which  missions  had  been 
held.  They  declared  with  one  voice  that  untold  good  had 
come  to  their  cities  through  the  work  of  grace  conducted  by 
the  evangelists. 

Mr.  Ernest  Matthews,  of  Manchester,  affirmed  that  the 
Mission  in  that  city  had  exceeded  their  expectation.  ''I 
remember  the  first  Sunday  night,  when  great  St.  James  Hall 
was  empty  at  5  o'clock,  and  we  wondered  what  the  first  meet- 
ing was  to  be  like.  And  when  the  long  queues  of  people 
stood  outside  and  tore  their  coats  off  in  trying  to  get  in  until 
the  place  w^as  crammed,  I  sat  and  said,  'Glor\^  to  God,'  'Glory 
to  God.'  The  Missioners'  work  at  Manchester  was  among  the 
working  classes;  'the  common  people  heard  them  gladly,  the 
common  people  loved  them  and  love  them  still,  and  in  the  hum- 
ble homes  of  the  working  class  districts  of  Manchester  Mr. 
Alexander's  hymns  are  sung  week  day  and  Sunday  without  any 
distinction.  Their  memories  are  loved,  but  what  is  more  the 
Lord  they  preach  is  loved  as  w^ell.  The  Mission  has  made  the 
w^ork  of  God  easier  for  all  w^ho  believe  in  the  old  Gospel  and 
love  to  preach  it.  I  never  knew  the  working  classes  so  open  and 
responsive  to  Gospel  effort  as  they  have  been  since  that  Mis- 
sion two  years  ago,  and  I  join  in  praise  to  God,  in  thankful- 
ness to  our  brethren,  and  in  prayer  that  greater  things 
may  come." 

Near  the  close  of  the  exercises,  a  memorable  scene  occurred 
when   each    evangelist   was   presented   with   a  handsome 


Closing  Missions  in  Engi^and  219 


illuminated  address,  stating  in  glowing  language  the  glorious 
results  of  the  Missions  in  each  city  they  had  visited.  The 
address  bore  the  signature  of  members  of  the  committee  from 
every  city  in  the  British  Isles  where  they  had  conducted  the 
campaign.  Of  Mr.  Alexander  and  his  work,  the  address  said : 
''We  thank  God  for  your  magnetic  and  inspiring  leadership  in 
song,  for  all  those  who  under  profound  impression  have  'stood 
all  amazed  at  the  love  Jesus  offers  them.'  You  have  taught  us 
songs  that  will  never  die,  and  you  have  made  the  singing  of  the 
great  congregation  seem  at  times  to  be  the  prelude  of  the 
'Glory  Song,'  which  shall  be  sung  by  the  'great  multitude 
which  no  man  can  number.'  " 

This  farewell  meeting  lasting  four  hours,  full  of  spiritual 
fervor,  white  hot  with  enthusiasm  for  soul  winning,  with  a 
number  who  accepted  Christ  even  though  it  was  not  a  regular 
revival  meeting — was  a  fitting  climax  to  a  three  years'  crusade 
in  which  80,000  people  had  publicly  confessed  Christ  as  their 
personal  Saviour. 


XVII 


BEGINNING  THE  AMERICAN  CAMPAIGN 

The  opening  of  the  American  work  of  the  evangeHsts  was 
watched  with  keen  interest.  There  were  many  who  doubted 
whether  their  Missions  would  be  crowned  with  the  same  suc- 
cess in  America  as  in  Great  Britain.  But  Dr.  Torrey  and  Mr. 
Alexander  depended  not  on  themselves,  nor  upon  human 
methods,  but  upon  the  living  God.  And  the  same  prayer- 
hearing  and  prayer-answering  God  who  gave  victory  in  Great 
Britain  poured  out  Pentecostal  blessings  in  America. 

It  was  in  direct  answer  to  prayer  that  the  evangelists'  first 
American  Mission  at  Toronto,  Canada,  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  revivals  in  their  entire  tour  of  the  world.  Not  only 
in  Toronto  but  in  all  the  surrounding  district  there  was  a  great 
burden  of  prayer  on  the  hearts  of  thousands  for  weeks  before 
the  arrival  of  the  evangelists.  In  a  town  loo  miles  away  lOO 
people  prayed  constantly  for  the  Mission.  In  another  town  a 
man  agonized  in  prayer  to  God  for  three  days  and  three 
nights  without  taking  a  morsel  of  food  or  a  drink  of  water. 
Toronto  itself  was  honey-combed  with  prayer-meetings.  It  is 
little  wonder  that  in  answer  to  prayer  a  wave  of  revival  swept 
over  Toronto  which  thrilled  the  city  and  led  4,500  persons  to 
confess  Christ. 

WORKERS  FROM  ABROAD 

The  meetings  were  held  in  Massey  Hall  a  beautiful  audi- 
torium, located  in  the  heart  of  the  business  district  and  seat- 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CAMPAIGN  221 

ing  4,000  people.  Every  night  the  big  building  was  packed 
to  the  doors,  with  hundreds  turned  away.  The  choir  had 
a  membership  of  about  2,000;  there  were  nearly  1,000  personal 
workers  and  300  ushers.  They  were  like  a  well  organized 
and  well  drilled  army  of  Christian  workers. 

The  influence  of  the  meetings  of  the  evangelists  in  Great 
Britain  was  strongly  felt  in  Toronto.  One  of  the  leaders  of 
the  movement  pointed  to  a  man  in  the  meeting  one  night,  and 
said:  *'That  man  over  there  was  converted  in  the  Torrey- 
Alexander  meetings  in  Belfast ;  he  is  one  of  our  best  workers." 
In  speaking  of  those  he  met  from  Great  Britain  Mr.  Alex- 
ander said : 

''At  the  close  of  Sunday's  meeting  a  bright  young  lady, 
Bible  in  hand,  came  up  to  me  and  said,  'Do  you  remember  me, 
Mr.  Alexander?  I  was  converted  at  South  London,  and  have 
since  come  over  here  with  my  family.  Last  night  I  was  bap- 
tized, and  I  am  now  a  member  of  the  church  here  in  Toronto'' ; 
and  her  face  looked  like  a  sunbeam.  A  young  man  came  up 
and  shook  my  hand  and  said:  'I  was  with  you  all  through 
the  Bristol  Mission.'  Another  man  said  that  he  had  worked 
with  us  in  the  Brighton  meetings,  and  was  ready  to  work  again 
here.  A  young  lady  in  our  choir  was  in  the  Bradford  choir, 
and  another  young  man,  whose  face  was  all  aglow  with  the 
love  of  God,  told  me  that  he  had  been  converted  in  the  Dum- 
barton meetings." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  movement  in  Toronto  the  people, 
though  praying  earnestly,  were  slow  to  go  out  and  deal  per- 
sonally with  the  unsaved.  One  afternoon  Mr.  Alexander  gave 
them  a  stirring  talk  on  going  out  and  speaking  to  the  lost  at 
any  cost.    He  said : 


222      1  wic^  Around  the:  World  With  Ai^exander 


POWER  OF  PERSONAL  WORK 

'1  have  seen  people  who  have  prayed  for  years  for  their 
loved  ones,  but  would  never  go  and  speak  to  them  about  their 
soul.  I  know  a  man  in  this  city  who  is  afraid  to  speak  to 
his  grandson,  though  he  has  been  praying  for  him.  If  you 
cannot  get  them  yourself,  send  some  one  else,  even  if  you  have 
to  get  the  whole  town  after  them. 

'Xet  me  tell  you  there  is  something  wrong  in  your  life  if  you 
cannot  do  personal  work.  It  may  be  pride.  Do  not  get  away 
from  yourselves  in  searching  for  the  cause.  Personal  work 
is  the  quickest  way  for  you  to  get  to  God.  You  will  never 
know  how  far  you  are  from  God  till  you  try  to  lead  some 
sinner  to  him.    A  great  many  will  not  try  because  it  hurts. 

''The  last  thing  the  devil  will  let  you  do  is  personal  work.  I 
have  seen  people  who  could  pray  and  do  everything  else  but 
this,  even  on  Mission  fields.  What  if  you  dropped  dead  in 
your  seats?  What  kind  of  a  record  would  you  have  to  show 
to  God?  You  say  you  are  not  naturally  gifted  for  personal 
work?  Then  get  supernaturally  gifted.  How  many  will  try? 
Do  not  get  up  unless  you  mean  it."  In  response  to  his  appeal 
over  half  the  audience  rose  to  their  feet. 

The  ''Glory  Song"  proved  to  be  the  favorite  hymn  of  the 
revival  in  Toronto  as  it  was  elsewhere.  A  daily  paper  issued 
it  one  afternoon  as  a  free  supplemicnt  in  sheet  music  style. 
One  afternoon  as  Mr.  Alexander  opened  the  meeting,  he  said : 

THE  "GLORY  SONG'*  IN  INDIAN 
"Just  as  I  came  in  the  door  I  was  handed  the  'Glory  Song' 
in  three  of  the  Indian  languages.    There  was  a  gentleman  in 
the  Bible  Institute  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  when  we  held  our 


Beginning  oi^  the  American  Campaign  223 

meetings  there,  who  afterwards  went  out  as  a  missionary  to 
China.  He  wrote  me  a  letter  saying  that  as  soon  as  he  got  to 
his  Mission  station  what  was  his  surprise  to  hear  the  native 
Christians  start  up  the  'Glory  Song.'  So  he  translated  it  into 
Chinese  and  sent  it  to  me.  *Of  course  they  sang  it  backwards/ 
he  added  with  a  smile ;  'Vd  like  to  hear  how  it  sounds  that 
way."' 

Mr.  Alexander  then  asked  the  audience  to  tell  where  they 
had  heard  the  ''Glory  Song."  A  man  rose  and  said,  "I  heard 
it  in  Florida,  and  was  delighted  with  it."  "I  heard  it  in  New 
York,"  said  another.  Others  rapidly  arose  saying  that  they 
had  heard  it  in  Glasgow,  Scotland;  Belfast,  Ireland;  New- 
foundland, Maidstone,  England ;  Melbourne,  Australia ; 
Bristol,  England;  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  "Keep  on,  we  will 
belt  the  globe  first  thing  we  know,"  urged  Mr.  Alexander. 
Instantly  a  young  man  was  on  his  feet  saying  he  had  heard  it 
in  Johannesburg,  South  Africa.  "Albert  Hall,  London,"  came 
from  another,  while  others  heard  it  in  the  Bible  Institute, 
Chicago ;  Brighton,  England ;  Bangor,  North  Wales ;  New- 
castle, England;  Bingley  Hall,  Birmingham,  England,  and 
Cardiff,  Wales. 

CAME  TO  BORROW  FIRE 

The  reports  of  the  revival  in  Toronto  led  people  to  go  long 
distances  to  catch  the  fire  and  carry  it  back  to  their  own 
homes  and  communities.  One  man  went  all  the  way  from 
South  Dakota;  another  from  Minnesota,  and  others  from 
various  parts  of  Canada. 

One  afternoon,  during  the  praise  service,  Mr.  Alexander 
singled  out  one  of  the  previous  night's  converts  who  was 
sitting  in  a  front  seat,  and  said,  ^'Brother,  how  does  it  feel 


224     Twice:  Around  the;  Wori.d  With  Ai.e;xande:r 


to  be  a  Christian  a  whole  day  ?    Stand  up  and  tell  them/'  The 
man  arose,  and  turning  towards  the  audience,  said,  ''The  best 
day  I  have  ever  enjoyed  in  my  life/'    And  he  looked  it. 
"Anybody  else?" 

''The  best  day  I  have  ever  spent  in  my  life,"  testified  another. 

"Have  any  of  you  come  from  a  distance?"  Mr.Alexander 
asked.  A  lady  rose  in  the  centre  of  the  ground  floor.  "I 
came  from  Rochester  to  attend  these  meetings.  Already 
three  people  have  been  saved  through  personal  work." 

"Where  are  you  big-voiced  men?"  demanded  Mr.  Alexander 
during  a  lull  in  the  speaking.    Have  you  nothing  to  say  ?" 

"Well,  I  thank  God  for  a  heart  full  of  love  to  him,"  said 
a  full-bearded  man.  "I  came  from  Peterboro  to  learn  from  the 
evangelists,  and  I  pray  that  I  may  take  back  to  the  good 
people  of  Peterboro  something  of  the  glorious  news." 

A  lady  missionary  from  Jamaica  stood  up  and  said:  "I 
thank  the  Lord  to-day  because  I  came  all  the  way  from 
Jamaica,  and  I  expect  to  be  able  to  take  some  of  the  glory 
back  with  me.  I  have  been  sending  copies  of  the  news- 
paper containing  the  'Glory  Song'  to  the  different  missionaries 
throughout  that  island.  I  expect  to  return  there  in  a  few 
weeks ;  and  I  pray  that  I  may  go  filled  with  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit." 

A  striking  feature  of  the  work  was  that  it  reached  all 
classes  from  the  rich  to  the  poor,  from  the  upright  business 
man  to  the  criminal. 

A  CRIMINAL'S  TESTIMONY 
**I  came  into  your  men's  meeting  on  Sunday  night;  and, 
through  the  singing  of  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There,'  I  was  Jed  to 


Beginning  oi^  the  American  Campaign  225 

Christ.  I  was  the  cause  of  breaking  our  poor  mother's  heart 
through  sin.  I  was  brought  up  in  a  Christian  home,  but  fell 
through  drink  and  drifted  into  crime.  I  have  just  been 
released  from  Kingston  Penitentiary,  where  I  have  spent  the 
last  ten  years  for  safe  blowing.  I  thank  God  for  bringing 
you  to  Toronto,  and  that  I  have  been  saved  through  your 
agency.  God  helping  me,  I  am  going  to  be  from  this  time  on 
an  honest,  sober,  upright,  law-abiding  citizen.    Pray  for  me.'' 

Perhaps  the  best  feature  of  the  Toronto  awakening  was  the 
manner  in  which  it  aroused  and  moved  the  business  men  of 
the  city.  One  day  Mr.  Alexander  was  the  speaker  at  a 
luncheon  tendered  him  by  the  Canadian  Club,  one  of  the 
foremost  business  men's  leagues  of  the  Dominion.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander was  accompanied  to  the  luncheon  by  Charles  Butler,  a 
new  soloist,  Robert  Harkness,  and  Melvin  E.  Trotter,  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Michigan.  Following  the  luncheon.  Vice  President 
TurnbuU  introduced  the  guest  of  the  day  as  follows : 

"During  the  past  four  years,  throughout  the  English  speak- 
ing world,  our  guest,  Mr.  Alexander,  has  been  demonstrating 
to  a  critical  public  the  power  and  influence  of  song  on  vast 
audiences.  His  leadership  of  the  song  service  in  connection 
with  the  Torrey- Alexander  Mission  in  Massey  Hall  during  this 
month  can  be  described  only  as  magnificent.  He  is  an  expert 
on  the  subject  in  which  he  is  going  to  address  us;  and  I  have 
therefore  much  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Alexander,  who 
will  speak  to  us  on  *Thc  Place  and  Power  of  Music/  " 

•JUST  TRY  ME  ON  LEATHER* 

Mr.  Alexander,  in  rising  to  speak,  was  loudly  applauded. 
He  said :    "I  have  asked  your  chairman  to  allow  me  to  stand 


226      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

on  a  chair,  for  I  want  to  see  all.  I  heard  of  a  man  who  got 
on  one  of  those  old-fashioned  stage  coaches  one  day,  and  he 
had  but  one  solitary  occupant  for  a  companion.  It  was  a  cold, 
drizzly  day  on  the  outside,  and  he  started  in  to  talk  to  this 
old  man  for  company,  but  all  he  could  get  out  of  him  was 
'Yes'  and  'No.'  He  tried  every  subject  that  he  knew  anything 
about  with  the  same  result ;  and  finally  he  sank  back  exhausted 
in  the  corner  of  the  coach.  Then  the  old  man,  his  companion 
said,  'Suppose  you  try  me  on  leather';  and  the  old  man  started 
in,  and  the  traveler  said  he  never  heard  a  man  talk  on  leather 
the  way  that  man  did.  I  am  right  in  the  kind  of  work  I  love ; 
and  you  have  asked  me  about  the  kind  of  work  that  I  know 
best.  I  had  my  subject  chosen  before  I  knew  what  the  title 
was  going  to  be,  but,  as  Artemus  Ward  said  about  the  subject 
of  one  of  his  lectures,  'The  most  remarkable  thing  about  the 
subject  is  that  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  lecture.' 

*'Away  down  in  the  hills  of  Tennessee,  I  was  born  in  a  log 
house ;  and  one  of  the  first  things  I  remember  was  hearing  the 
old  Gospel  songs  sung  without  any  instrument,  and  I  am  glad 
of  that  recollection.  They  sent  me  to  school  with  Webster's 
blue-backed  spelling  book  and  a  little  New  Testament.  After 
I  got  away  from  that  school  and  heard  that  other  boys  in  the 
towns  were  taught  from  handsome  books,  with  pictures, 
I  felt  I  had  been  badly  used.  I  thought  my  education  had 
been  neglected  because  I  had  to  use  the  New  Testament  for 
reader,  but  later  I  found  out  I  was  mistaken ;  for  somehow  the 
truths  of  that  little  Testament  got  into  me,  got  hold  of  me,  and 
I  now  have  no  cause  to  regret  it. 

"My  father  used  to  teach  me  to  sing  Sankey's  hymns,  with- 
out any  instrument,  for  we  could  not  afford  one,  and  later  I 


Beginning  oi^  the  American  Campaign  229 

went  to  country  singing  schools  and  learned  to  sing  there 
without  any  instrument,  too.  I  have  always  been  glad  of  that, 
because  it  does  not  matter  how  Harkness  plays,  I  can  always 
keep  on  singing. 

WANTED— SERMONS  ON  WHEELS 
*'When  I  saw  the  worth  of  a  human  soul,  and  wanted  to  get 
men  started  in  the  direction  that  I  thought  was  right,  I  began  to 
look  around  to  see  how  I  could  help  the  most  men  in  the 
strongest  way.  I  wanted  something  to  start  men's  hearts 
going;  and  I  found  out  that  when  you  get  a  sermon  set  to 
music  it  was  like  a  sermon  on  wheels.  It  was  like  going  down 
hill.  I  have  very  little  voice  for  singing,  but  there  is  this 
about  it,  they  can  always  hear  me  no  matter  how  big  the 
building  is.  I  thought  I  have  got  to  do  something  to  reach 
the  people,  and  I  turned  about  and  taught  them  to  sing. 

*'The  Albert  Hall  Mission  in  London  set  going  one  of  the 
greatest  things  in  the  way  of  music  that  I  have  ever  heard  of. 
When  you  get  London  started  and  its  people  singing  and  talk- 
ing, you  have  something  accomplished.  There  was  the  *Glory 
Song.'  I  believe  there  is  scarcely  anybody  in  London  that  has 
not  heard  it.  One  night  some  men  were  looking  up  men  for 
a  free  breakfast,  searching  for  them  in  the  park,  on  the 
benches,  under  arches,  where  ever  they  could  be  found,  to  take 
'liem  down  to  a  free  breakfast.  It  was  two  or  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning;  and  when  these  workers  had  a  crowd  of  men 
around  them  one  said,  *]im,  let's  have  an  open-air  meeting 
right  here.'  He  said,  'What  can  we  do,'  'Start  the  Glory 
Song,'  said  the  other,  and  they  did,  and  every  one  of  those 
tramps  sang  it.    This  was  how  they  knew  it.    It  was  printed 


230      Twice:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exandkr 


three  times  in  the  Daily  Mail  with  the  words  and  music,  and 
every  one  had  a  Daily  Mail,  however  they  got  it.  I  don't 
suppose  they  were  ever  in  a  Mission,  and  they  would  not  go 
to  Albert  Hall.  On  the  other  hand,  to  see  how  the  titled 
people  would  listen  to  the  music  was  wonderful  to  me. 

'1  find  people  like  music  if  it  has  point,  if  it  is  going  some- 
where; and  when  men  who  are  not  Christians  come  to  our 
meetings  I  find  that  the  stronger  a  song  is  the  more  it  will 
be  called  for.  That  Tilot  Song'  has  been  called  for  more 
than  any  other  by  men  who  were  not  Christians.  There  is 
a  way  to  get  hold  of  men,  and  it  is  through  the  power  of 
music.  It  was  a  great  discovery  for  me  when  I  found  out 
that  busy  men  like  you,  who  do  not  sing,  who  do  not  take 
time  to  sing,  though  you  ought  to,  when  you  get  together  you 
are  just  like  a  crowd  of  boys  and  like  to  sing  just  as  well.  I 
used  to  wonder  at  this;  but  I  do  not  now,  because  down  in 
every  man's  heart  there  is  a  love  of  song,  and  even  the  men 
who  have  been  against  us  like  these  Gospel  Songs.  I  could 
tell  you  wonderful  stories  how  one  of  these  simple  songs,  with 
a  hook  in  it,  will  follow  a  man  day  and  night  and  get  hold  of 
him,  so  that  he  cannot  get  away  from  it.  The  night  before 
last  I  heard  a  crowd  of  young  fellows  going  home,  singing  the 
Tilot  Song/ 

SONGS  WITH  HOOKS  IN  THEM 

"  'The  power  of  song' !  Why,  I  can  go  to  a  crowded  meet- 
ing, and  put  ill  ten  or  eleven  hours  and  feel  fresh.  The  music 
is  different  from  what  it  used  to  be,  because  it  has  point  to 
it.  I  feel  when  I  sing  that  it  is  going  to  get  hold  of  some 
men  and  change  their  homes.    That  is  what  you  want  to  see 


BEGINNING  01?^  the:  AMERICAN  CAMPAIGN  23 1 

done.  I  know  of  homes  right  here  in  this  town  that  have  been 
changed.  Some  of  you  say  that  you  don't  beHeve  in  these 
methods,  but  there's  a  fact  that  you  cannot  get  away  from, 
and  in  a  Httle  while  I  will  ask  Mr.  Trotter  to  illustrate  it.  I 
have  seen  people  come  to  Albert  Hall  at  two  o'clock  and  stay 
till  six  o'clock.  Dr.  Torrey  would  take  up  three  quarters  of 
an  hour;  but  all  the  rest  of  the  time  men  and  women  in  the 
galleries  and  boxes  and  on  the  floor  of  the  hall  would  be  call- 
ing for  some  simple  Gospel  songs ;  and  then  we  would  go  back 
after  supper  and  sing  them  until  nearly  eleven  o'clock.  I 
have  never  seen  any  other  kind  of  music  that  would  get  hold  of 
people  like  this.  Men  just  as  smart  looking  as  you  are  would 
stay  there  and  ask  for  these  songs.  I  have  a  stack  of  letters 
that  high  (indicating  it  with  his  hands)  from  all  classes  of 
people,  telling  that  these  songs  just  suited  their  case. 

"One  time  in  Chicago  I  was  teaching  a  choir  of  little  girls 
to  sing,  little  street  girls,  whose  clothes  were  scarcely  good 
enough  for  them  to  come  to  church;  and  we  had  them  away 
up  in  the  back  of  the  gallery  of  Mr.  Moody's  Church.  It 
was  a  time  of  great  financial  disaster  in  Chicago ;  and  a  busi- 
ness man  who  had  lost  all  his  money  was  walking  along  the 
street,  wondering  what  would  become  of  him,  when  he  heard 
the  singing  from  the  church,  'God  Will  Take  Care  Of  You." 
Nothing  else  had  touched  him  like  those  little  voices.  He 
came  into  the  church,  and  heard  them  sing  it  again.  He  had 
not  thought  of  that,  but  he  said  to  himself:  'Of  course  God 
will  take  care  of  me,'  and  went  away  happy.  I  like  to  use 
material  like  that.  Long  ago  I  found  out  when  I  got  people 
worked  up  by  a  concert  or  something  of  that  kind  it  stopped 
there.    I  would  be  all  exhausted  and  to  no  purpose.    I  would 


232      TwicK  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

ask  myself,  'Where  did  I  take  those  people,  where  did  I  land 
them  anyway?  There  must  be  something  more  in  this  world 
than  this?'  Now  yesterday  I  was  at  work  from  lo  o'clock  in 
the  morning  until  nearly  midnight,  and  when  I  got  home  I 
was  satisfied  that  I  had  been  doing  the  best  work  in  the  world. 

THE  "TELL  MOTHER"  SONG 
^'Musicians  come  to  me,  and  ask  me  why  I  don't  use  the 
other  kinds  of  music.  If  oratorio  would  have  the  same  effects 
in  the  hearts  of  men  like  you,  I  would  have  oratorios  every 
time  I  got  a  chance.  But  you  fellows  know  if  you  try  a 
thing  and  it  doesn't  do  the  business  you  quit  it,  don't  you  ?  I 
get  the  songs  that  do  the  business ;  and,  if  I  find  one  that  won't, 
I  drop  it.  There  is  a  song,  Tell  Mother  Fll  Be  There,'  which 
I  hesitated  a  long  time  before  using.  I  have  been  criticised  all 
over  the  world  for  using  it,  but  you  would  not  criticise  me  if 
you  knew  what  it  has  done  and  what  testimonies  and  letters 
about  it  I  have  received.  A  friend  cut  it  out  of  a  scrap  book, 
and  sent  it  to  me,  and  I  carried  it  a  year  before  I  used  it.  One 
night  there  was  a  crowd  of  railway  men,  and  I  said  to  myself, 
'I  wonder  what  would  reach  those  men  ?'  I  used  it,  and  when 
it  was  over  a  burly  engineer  came  up  to  me  and  said,  'Mr. 
Alexander,  I  promised  my  mother  on  her  death  bed  that  I 
would  become  a  Christian;  but,  instead  of  that,  I  have  been 
going  to  the  devil  faster  than  ever.  Preaching  never  touched 
me,  but  that  little  song  did;  and  if  you  will  sing  it  to-morrow 
night  I  will  bring  the  boys.'  He  did  bring  them  for  many 
nights;  and  he  used  to  say,  'Don't  forget  to  sing  ''Tell 
Mother"  '  I  used  that  song  every  time,  and  I  have  used  it 
many  times  since.    Newspapers  have  taken  columns  to  say 


Beginning  of  the  American  Campaign  233 


what  doggerel  it  is ;  but  at  the  end  they  had  to  admit  the  effect 
it  had  on  those  men.    Argue  against  everything  but  a  fact ! 

**There's  Harkness,  a  Bendigo  boy,  still  under  the  British 
flag,  though  a  long  way  from  home.  He  wrote  some  of  those 
songs;  for  instance  Tilot  Song,'  and  I  would  rather  have 
written  that  song  than  anything  else  I  know  of.  It  is  like  a 
snow  ball,  it  keeps  on  growing  as  it  rolls  along.  I  am  going 
to  give  you  each  a  copy  as  you  go  out.  If  you  don't  want  it 
yourself,  put  it  in  a  letter  and  send  it  to  your  aunt  or  your 
sweetheart  or  somebody.  You  have  all  heard  of  the  man 
who  said,  Xet  me  make  the  songs  of  a  nation  and  I  care  not 
who  makes  its  laws.'  And  the  point  I  make  to-day  is  the 
power  of  good  Gospel  music  over  every  other  kind  of  music 
in  making  over  families.  It  has  a  power  that  no  other  music 
has.  I  have  a  warm  place  in  my  heart  for  every  man  in  this 
room.  Don't  forget  us.  We  love  you  more  than  ever.  We 
are  going  to  pray  for  you.  Good-bye." 

Not  only  in  Toronto,  but  throughout  the  province  of 
Ontario,  the  results  of  the  Mission  were  felt.  Numerous  local 
revivals  sprang  up  in  smaller  cities  as  the  outcome  of  the 
work  of  grace  in  Toronto.  One  minister  who  went  300  miles 
to  "catch  the  fire"  arose  in  a  meeting  in  Massey  Hall,  and 
said:  "Three  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  here  my  people 
held  a  prayer-meeting  last  week  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the 
work  here.  It  started  a  revival.  Four  people  were  con- 
verted, and  two  were  led  to  confess  Christ,  who  had  never  con- 
fessed him  before.  The  whole  church  was  awakened,  and  they 
have  sent  me  here  as  the  result.  Several  other  ministers  came 
from  long  distances  and  brought  prominent  members  and 
officers  of  their  churches. 


234      Twici:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

GHIUDREN'S  PRAYER  GICRCLE 

The  work  among  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  city  was  deep  and 
lasting.  Even  the  children  were  fired  with  a  remarkable 
passion  to  win  their  playmates  and  companions  to  Christ. 
Three  girls — two  ii  and  one  lo  years  of  age — banded  together 
and  formed  a  prayer-circle  to  hold  weekly  meetings  at  one 
anothers'  houses.  Inside  of  ten  days  they  had  won  seven  other 
girls,  one  of  whom  subsequently  led  her  uncle  and  aunt  to 
Christ.  A  letter  from  one  of  the  three  original  members  of 
the  circle  contained  the  following : 

''Our  meeting  was  a  great  help.  I  don't  thing  there  was  a 
girl  went  away  unsaved.  There  were  fourteen  present  I 
notice  a  big  change  in  the  girls  at  school.  Two  little  girls  I 
have  been  praying  for  have  joined  the  church.  I  am  trying  to 
tell  other  girls  of  Jesus,  not  because  I  want  to  be  praised,  but 
because  I  want  to  do  it  for  Jesus'  sake." 

Another  girl  convert  of  about  twelve  years  of  age  wrote : 
am  glad  I  took  Jesus  when  I  did,  so  that  I  can  lead  some 
of  my  playmates  to  him.  I  am  going  to  see  how  many  I 
can  win  for  Jesus.  I  wrote  to  my  brother  George  in  Chicago, 
and  told  him  I  was  saved.  I  am  going  to  keep  reading  my 
Bible.  I  am  going  to  make  a  prayer-list  in  the  back  of  my 
Testament ;  and,  if  that  will  not  hold  them  all,  I  will  get 
something  else." 

The  children  were  filled  with  missionary  zeal  as  well.  A 
1 2-year-old  boy,  a  convert  of  the  revival,  and  a  member  of 
another  prayer-circle  wrote:  "We  are  thinking  about  sup- 
porting a  missionary  (native).  I  am  sure  we  will  be  success- 
ful, as  the  Lord  has  answered  our  prayers,  and'  will  answer 
them  again.    Be  sure  and  pray  for  our  meetings,  that  the  Lord 


Beginning  of  the  American  Campaign  235 

may  fill  us  with  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  many  hearts  may  be 
touched  and  led  to  publicly  confess  Christ/' 

Among  the  young  people  as  well  as  the  children,  the  revival 
produced  large  results.  A  unique  organization  called  the 
Pocket  Testament  League  was  organized  in  the.  High  School 
after  the  young  ladies  had  heard  of  the  one  started  by  Mrs. 
Alexander  in  an  English  High  School  many  years  previous. 
A  member  of  the  league  told  of  its  purpose  as  follows : 

''Some  of  the  girls  decided  to  form  a  Pocket  Testament 
League  in  the  High  School.  We  have  nine  members  in  our 
League  now,  and  have  appointed  a  President  and  a  Secretary. 
We  thought  well  to  make  out  some  rules,  and  have  those 
who  joined  agree  to  keep  these  rules,  so  we  made  out  three — 
.  I.    We  are  to  carry  our  Testaments  wherever  we  go. 

2.  We  are  each  to  make  a  prayer  list. 

3.  We  are  to  read  as  much  as  we  can  in  the  Bible  every  day. 
''Our  object  is  to  get  to  know  the  Bible  better,  and  to  bring 

other  girls  to  Christ.'' 

It  was  in  Toronto  that  the  Mission  staff  was  enlarged  by 
the  addition  of  a  soloist  engaged  by  Mr.  Alexander,  named 
Charles  Butler.  He  is  a  Southerner  from  Macon,  Georgia. 
He  won  favor  from  the  start;  and  especially  did  great  good 
among  the  men  by  his  beautiful  rendering  of  Mr.  Harkness's 
hymn  entitled,  "Is  He  Yours  ?"  which  there  came  to  be  known 
as  the  "Pilot  Song/' 


XVIII 


THE  GREAT  WORK  IN  PHILADELPHIA 

The  three  months'  campaign  in  Philadelphia,  which  directly 
followed  that  in  Toronto,  was  the  chief  religious  event  of  the 
day.  It  aroused  the  country  from  coast  to  coast,  led  to  scores 
of  local  revivals,  and  stimulated  evangelistic  work  all  over 
the  land. 

The  movement  was  a  union  effort  in  which  practically  all  the 
evangelical  churches  co-operated.  The  two  foremost  men  in 
the  management  of  the  Mission  were  Dr.  Floyd  H.  Tompkins, 
the  famous  rector  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  and  Mr.  John  E. 
Converse,  President  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works.  In 
addition,  however,  scores  of  other  well  known  ministers  and 
business  and  professional  men  gave  time  and  money  to  help 
forward  the  movement,  including  John  Wanamaker,  Dr. 
Russell  H.  Conwell,  Dr.  J.  R.  Miller,  Dr.  John  A.  Cass,  Dr. 
Patterson,  Dr.  Charles  R.  Watson,  Herbert  Caskey,  H.  C.  Lin« 
coin.  Dr.  C.  A.  R.  Janvier  and  Mr.  Allen  Sutherland. 

The  meetings  were  held  in  two  remodeled  military  armories, 
located  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  city.  They  were 
flitted  with  galleries  and  seats  to  accommodate  between  5,000 
and  6,000  persons.  During  the  first  month  the  meetings  were 
held  in  the  Northern  Armory;  during  the  second  in  the 
Southern,  and  the  final  series  in  the  Northern  one.  On  the 
opening  day  nearly  12,006  people  crowded  into  the  big 
structure,  during  the  afternoon  and  evening  meetings.  Night 


The  Great  Work  in  Phii.adei.phia  237 


after  night  thereafter  the  big  building  was  filled  to  overflowing, 
while  frequently  thousands  were  turned  away.  Sometimes, 
after  the  hall  was  filled,  there  would  be  one  or  more  open-air 
meetings  in  front  of  the  building  in  addition  to  a  large  over- 
flow meeting  at  a  nearby  church. 

A  detail  of  thirty  policemen  was  usually  present  to  prevent 
accidents,  as  the  crowds  waiting  in  the  street  rushed  into  the 
building,  which  would  often  be  completely  filled  in  a  few 
minutes. 

REMARKABLE  FIGURES 

It  is  estimated  that  in  the  62  working  days  of  the  campaign 
375,000  persons  were  brought  under  the  sound  of  the  Gospel, 
giving  an  average  daily  attendance  of  over  6,000  people. 
The  sermons  preached  by  Dr.  Torrey  numbered  156;  while 
the  talks  by  Mr.  Alexander,  of  which  there  were  sometimes 
half  a  dozen  in  the  course  of  a  single  meeting,  amounted  to 
about  500.  The  number  who  publicly  confessed  Christ  during 
the  Mission  exceeded  7,000. 

From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  movement,  the  Phila- 
delphia newspapers  gave  large  space  to  the  meetings  and  to 
the  messages  of  the  revivalists.  So  expectant  were  the  people 
over  the  beginning  of  the  work,  that  one  daily  compared  the 
advent  of  the  evangelists  with  that  of  Whitefield  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  It  was  ascertained  that  several  revivals  in 
Pennsylvania  towns  were  started  through  reading  the  reports 
in  the  Philadelphia  press. 

Mr.  Alexander's  Revival  Hymns  quickly  captivated  Phila- 
delphia ;  and  were  heard,  not  only  in  the  churches  and  in  the 
homes,  but  on  the  streets  of  the  city  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
evening.    Almost  every  night,  after  the  armory  meeting  was 


238      Twici:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

over,  groups  of  choir  members  would  board  street  cars  and 
turn  them  intc  _3ospel  cars  by  making  them  echo  for  miles  with 
revival  hymns.  One  man  arose  at  a  testimony  meeting,  and 
told  of  his  experience  in  one  of  these  cars : 

was  delighted  when  I  left  here  the  other  night  to  get  into 
a  street  car  with  some  of  the  choir.  They  had  the  spirit  of 
song  in  their  hearts ;  and  they  could  not  keep  quiet.  And  as 
the  old  car  rolled  down  Fifteenth  Street,  all  the  way  along  the 
street  people  stopped  to  see  what  was  going  on.  It  was 
simply  the  Spirit  of  God  going  down  Fifteenth  Street  in  the 
hearts  of  those  choir  people ;  and  their  lips  were  giving  utter- 
ance to  the  fulness  that  was  in  their  hearts.  I  hope  you  will 
all  take  up  that  spirit  of  song  and  go  through  the  street,  singing 
with  the  Spirit  of  God  in  your  hearts." 

The  meetings  had  not  long  been  in  progress  before  scores 
were  being  converted  in  the  Philadelphia  churches,  in  addition 
to  the  hundreds  at  the  Armory  meetings. 

One  afternoon,  before  Dr.  Torrey  preached,  Mr.  Alexander 
said:  ''If  any  one  knows  where  revival  fires  have  spread  in 
your  church,  in  your  family,  anywhere,  tell  us.''  One  by  one 
in  quick  succession  some  fifty  men  and  women  arose  and  told 
of  conversions. 

''We  go  out  after  blacksmiths  and  laborers,''  declared  a 
man,  in  workingman's  garb,  in  the  rear  of  the  house.  "We 
have  led  several  to  Christ,  and  induced  many  to  come  to  the 
meetings." 

A  colored  man  arose  in  the  middle  of  the  audience,  and 
said  that  in  his  church  there  were  more  than  100  conversions 
recently.  "I've  come  from  the  coal  regions  to  get  some  fire," 
said  the  man.    "I  shall  take  it  back,  too." 


Th^  Great  Work  in  PhiIvAdei.phia  239 

Several  ministers  reported  conversions  in  their  churches. 
A  man  arose  in  the  front  row,  and  said  they  were  having 
hundreds  of  conversions  in  Northeast  Kensington. 

PEOPLE  HOME  HEARD  SERVICES 

By  a  unique  contrivance  the  messages  of  the  evangeHsts  in 
sermon  and  song  were  dehvered,  not  only  to  the  great  throngs 
which  gathered  night  after  night  at  the  great  armories,  but 
to  the  people  of  Philadelphia  as  they  sat  in  their  homes  in 
every  part  of  the  city.  A  Telephone  Company  installed  a 
megaphone  above  the  speaker's  stand,  so  that  the  words  of 
Dr.  Torrey  and  the  words  of  Mr.  Alexander  and  the  songs  of 
the  choir  and  the  audience  were  carried  over  the  wires  into  the 
homes  of  the  people.  As  one  sat  in  one's  home,  the  entire  pro- 
ceedings at  the  armory  could  be  heard  by  simply  taking  down 
the  receiver  and  asking  Central  to  connect  one  with  the 
revival  meetings.  Thousands  who  could  not  attend  the  central 
meetings  were  reached  in  this  manner. 

One  day  Mr.  Alexander  received  a  touching  letter,  telling 
how  one  woman  was  converted  through  the  use  of  this  inven- 
tion. The  writer  said :  ''One  Sunday  in  February  our  maid 
was  alone  in  the  house,  and,  as  she  had  been  told  by  us  of  the 
possibility  of  hearing  your  meeting  by  'phone,  she  took  up  the 
receiver  for  the  first  time  and  listened  to  the  afternoon  ser- 
vice. The  meeting,  as  she  heard  it,  so  affected  her  that  she 
resolved  to  go  herself  the  following  Thursday.  She  did  this ; 
and  was  so  touched  and  convinced  that,  instead  of  going  to  a 
dance  party  that  same  evening,  she  called  for  her  sister  and 
went  to  the  evening  meeting.  When  the  call  was  given  to  go 
forward  she  was  one  of  the  first.  She  was  very  happy  in  telling 


240     Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Amxander 

her  mistress,  the  first  thing  next  morning ;  and  has  since  been  the 
happiest  girl  you  ever  saw.  She  has  no  need  now  for  the 
dance  party  nor  for  the  theatre  of  which  she  is  very  fond,  and 
is  glad  that  she  went  to  the  armory  that  evening  instead  of 
to  the  dance  party." 

Later  in  the  campaign  still  another  invention  called  the 
"multiphone"  was  used  to  spread  the  Gospel  message.  By 
means  of  this,  the  entire  revival  service  was  reproduced 
nightly  at  Bethany  Presbyterian  Church,  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  away.  One  evening  nearly  400  people  listened  there  with 
great  interest  to  the  service  at  the  armory. 

Throughout  the  Philadelphia  Mission  the  singing  of  Mr. 
Charles  Butler  was  greatly  appreciated  at  the  revival  meet- 
ings at  the  armory  and  at  special  services.  One  afternoon 
when  he  had  sung  *'When  the  Comforter  Came,"  Mr.  Alex- 
ander asked  him  to  tell  how  he  was  converted,  and  he  said : 

went  to  a  Georgia  city  to  work,  and  I  went  to  the  devil 
at  the  same  time.  It  was  not  necessary  to  tell  you  all  the 
sins  I  engaged  in  then.  I  had  the  habit  of  profanity  so  that  I 
swore  unconsciously.  I  couldn't  quit  it,  although  I  always 
resolved  to  do  so  on  the  first  of  every  January.  One  day 
I  went  to  a  revival  meeting  conducted  by  Evangelist  Robert 
Miller,  and  heard  him  tell  of  a  three-fold  salvation — that 
Christ  crucified  saved  from  the  penalty  of  sin,  Christ  risen  from 
the  power  of  sin,  while  Christ  coming  again  will  save  from  the 
presence  of  sin.  I  told  the  preacher  afterwards  that  I  wanted 
that  sort  of  salvation.  He  showed  me  I.  Corinthians  10:  13 — 
'There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but  such  as  is  common  to 
man:  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  able."    From  that  time  on,  *the  fire  that  he 


Tun  Gri^at  Work  in  Phii.adei.phi a  241 

kindled  consumed  my  sin'  "  said  the  soloist,  quoting  a  verse  of 
the  hymn  he  had  just  sung. 

AT  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 
During  a  rest  week  between  the  meetings  in  the  North  and 
the  South  Armory,  Mr.  Alexander  paid  a  brief  visit  to  Prince- 
ton University,  where  a  revival  flame  was  kindled  in  the 
hearts  of  many  of  the  students.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
pianist,  Mr.  Robert  Harkness,  the  soloist,  Mr.  Charles  Butler; 
and  Mr.  Melvin  E.  Trotter.  On  Saturday  evening  he  conducted 
a  meeting  for  undergraduates,  similar  to  one  he  had  held  at 
Cambridge  University.  It  was  a  time  of  heart-searching  and 
confession,  such  as  two  juniors  declared  they  had  never 
before  witnessed  in  the  institution.  On  Sunday  Mr.  Alex- 
ander and  his  party  were  busy  from  morning  until  night,  con- 
ducting meetings  and  talking  with  students  in  their  rooms 
about  their  soul  salvation,  and  about  the  necessity  of  winning 
others  to  Christ.  The  Gospel  singer  took  part  in  seven  meet- 
ings during  the  day.  The  largest  was  in  the  afternoon  at 
Alexander  Hall,  when  President  Woodrow  Wilson  was  present 
and  concluded  the  meeting  with  the  benediction.  Of  all  the 
meetings  conducted  among  the  students,  perhaps  that  on  Sun- 
day evening  for  those  in  the  theological  department  left  the 
deepest  impression.  Two  theologues,  on  returning  to  their 
rooms,  burst  into  tears  and  falling  upon  their  knees  prayed 
for  forgiveness  and  for  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
order  that  they  might  go  out  and  win  souls  as  never  before. 
At  the  present  time  of  writing,  over  a  year  later,  I  learn  that 
the  effect  of  Mr.  Alexander's  visit  was  felt  throughout  the 
entire  year  in  the  theological  seminary. 


242      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

As  in  Toronto,  one  of  the  most  far-reaching  features  of 
the  movement  was  the  manner  in  w^hich  it  gripped  the  business 
men  of  the  city.  Hundreds  of  business  men  received  a  passion 
for  soul-winning '  that  they  had  never  known  before,  and  at 
the  present  time — over  a  year  after  the  Mission — many  of 
them  are  still  filled  with  holy  zeal  for  seeking  and  saving  the 
lost.  One  night  Mr.  Alexander  noticed  sitting  upon  the  plat- 
form a  well  dressed  man  with  his  top  hat  and  gloves  beside 
him.  During  the  after-meeting,  he  told  him  to  go  down  into 
the  audience  and  do  personal  work.  The  man  obeyed,  and 
that  night  had  the  joy  of  leading  a  man  and  his  wife  to 
Christ.  This  filled  him  with  such  enthusiasm  that  he  became 
one  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the  movement.  He  was  Mr. 
H.  Wellington  Wood,  manager  of  the  Philadelphia  branch  of 
the  famous  Heinz  Pickle  Company.  Before  the  Mission  con- 
cluded, he  led  nearly  two  scores  of  persons  to  Christ  by  personal 
work;  and  in  less  than  eighteen  months  afterward  he  had  the 
inexpressible  joy  of  having  pointed  two  hundred  and  sixty 
persons  to  a  knowledge  of  Christ  wherever  he  went  throughout 
the  country — in  hotels,  in  street  cars,  on  railways,  in  homes 
and  churches.  He  has  their  names  and  addresses  written  in 
red  ink  in  a  little  vest  pocketbook,  which  he  always  carries 
with  him.  The  list  includes  a  millionaire,  a  prominent  physi- 
cian, business  men,  criminals  and  numerous  railway  and  street 
car  employes.  One  day  Mr.  Wood  called  fifteen  of  his  travel- 
ing salesmen  into  his  office,  and  had  a  straight  talk  with  them 
about  Jesus  Christ.  He  found  that  eight  were  already  Chris- 
tians, but  seven  were  not.  Before  the  talk  concluded,  however, 
all  seven  stood  up  and  accepted  Christ,  and  soon  after  joined 
various  churches.    One  had  been  an  infidel  for  years. 


The  Great  Work  in  PtiiivADiXPHiA 


243 


RELIGION  AND  BUSINESS 

In  speaking  of  his  soul-winning  work,  Mr.  Wood  said  to 
me :  ''Men  do  not  get  away  from  me  in  business,  and  I  am 
determined  that  they  shall  not  get  away  from  me  in  coming  out 
for  God.  I  am  determined  to  use  every  bit  of  diplomacy  I 
possess  to  win  souls  for  Christ.  I  have  a  peace  now  that  I 
never  knew  before.  I  have  surrendered  myself  entirely  to 
him.  I  once  attended  theatres;  I  have  now  no  desire  for 
them.  I  used  to  bowl  three  and  four  nights  a  week;  I  have 
now  resigned  every  bowling  club  I  belonged  to,  and  never 
bowl  now  unless  it  is  for  exercise.  Every  night  I  have  some- 
thing better  on  hand,  something  to  do  for  God.  Then  my 
family  relations  are  happier  than  ever  before.  We  thought 
we  had  a  happy  home  before,  but  now  I  love  my  family  more 
and  seem  to  see  them  in  a  different  light.  This  work  of  soul- 
winning  has  brought  me  'the  old  tirhe  religion  which  makes 
me  love  everybody.'  " 

Asked  whether  this  personal  work  had  interfered  with  his 
business,  Mr.  Wood  said:  "No,  it  increases  it.  We  had 
$5,000  increase  last  week  above  any  previous  week.  Not  only 
that,  but  my  relation  to  my  men  is  more  happy.  I  watch  their 
spiritual  life  and  their  home  life ;  and  I  have  a  different 
interest  in  them  altogether." 

As  Mr.  Alexander's  choir  numbered  3,000  it  was  impossible 
for  all  the  members  to  occupy  the  600  or  700  choir  seats  on 
the  platform  at  the  armory  meetings.  The  members  were 
assigned  to  attend  the  meetings  on  certain  nights.  But  on  two 
evenings  full  rehearsals  of  the  great  chorus  were  held  under 
Mr.  Alexander's  direction  in  the  famous  Baptist  Temple,  of 
which  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell  is  pastor.    On  one  of  these 


244 


Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


occasions,  following  the  thrilling  choir  practice  when  the  big 
building  vibrated  as  perhaps  never  before  with  a  mighty 
volume  of  song  from  nearly  3,000  trained  voices,  Mr.  Alex- 
ander introduced  to  the  choir  Mr.  Melvin  E.  Trotter,  who 
had  been  assisting  the  evangelists  in  the  armory  meetings  for 
several  days.  ^Ir.  Trotter  was  once  a  drunkard,  but  was  saved 
in  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  in  Chicago,  nine  years  ago,  when 
on  tlie  point  of  committing  suicide.  To-day  he  has  the  largest 
Rescue  Mission  in  the  world  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 

Mr.  Alexander  said  he  wanted  Mr.  Trotter  to  tell  the  choir 
the  stor\'  of  "Old  Man  Wiseman.''  He  said  he  had  heard  it 
over  and  over,  but  it  always  did  him  good.  Before  Mr. 
Trotter  concluded  the  touching  narrative  tears  were  flowing 
down  many  cheeks  in  the  audience.    Mr.  Trotter  said: 

OLD  MAN  WISEMAN 

"There  was  an  old  fellow  who  hung  around  our  Mission 
called  'Wiseman/  This  old  fellow  would  come  in,  and  he  was 
a  splendid  old  fellow  to  cry — oh,  how  he  could  cry!  He 
could  cry  to  order  at  a  moment's  notice.  He  would  come  in 
and  try  to  tell  me  how  sorry  he  was  about  it,  and  he'd  say, 
'Oh,  Brother  Trotter,  I  want  you  to  pray  for  me.'  And  then 
he'd  say.  'I'll  never  touch  it  again.  Brother  Trotter — never  as 
long  as  I  live — and  I'm  going  to  love  Jesus,  and,  oh,  how  I 
love  you  !  Give  me  a  quarter.'  And  he  would  get  his  quarter, 
and  out  he'd  go ;  and  I  would  say  to  myself,  *  Well,  I'll  believe 
that  as  long  as  there's  life  there's  hope.'  In  about  three  days 
in  he  would  come  again  with  the  same  cry,  and  the  same  dirt — 
only  a  little  more  of  it — and  he  would  tell  me  the  same  old 
story.    I  would  say,  'What  do  you  want,  Wiseman?'    And  he 


Thi$  Grkat  Work  in  Phii.adi;i:.phia  245 

would  say  *I  want  you  to  pray  for  me,  Brother  Trotter.  I 
want  to  be  right  with  God/  And  I'd  pray  for  him  the  best  I 
knew  how,  and  point  him  to  Jesus,  and  he  would  tell  me  how 
much  he  loved  me,  and  'Now  gi'  me  a  quarter,  Brother  Trotter, 
and  ril  be  all  right/  He  would  be  prayed  with,  and  every 
time  I  would  say  to  him,  'You  have  got  to  get  away  from  this 
thing — quit  sin  right  here/  And  he  would  get  right  up  from 
his  knees  and  say,  *Oh,  Brother  Trotter,  Tm  all  right  now, 
and,  oh,  it  is  so  glorious/  And  he  would  weep  and  weep — 
and  oh,  what  a  weeper  he  was !    He  just  had  tears  to  burn. 

'1  was  writing  my  annual  report  of  the  year's  work  one 
morning,  and  was  getting  along  nicely  with  it.  But  Fm  not 
much  of  an  artist  with  the  pen,  and  I  wanted  to  be  quiet  and 
not  be  interrupted  with  people  coming  into  my  office  all 
day,  so  I  said  to  my  assistant,  *Mr.  Bush,  don't  open  that  front 
door.  I  want  to  be  left  alone ;  I  don't  want  anybody  bother- 
ing me  while  I  am  at  work  on  this  report.'  He  went  across 
to  the  Eagle  Hotel  to  get  a  pitcher  of  lemonade ;  and  while  he 
was  away  there  came  a  rap  at  my  office  door.  I  didn't  pay  any 
attention  to  it.  I  thought  to  myself,  'Wonder  who  that  can  be 
who  wants  to  interrupt  me  now?'  But  when  a  second  rap 
came  I  got  up  and  opened  the  door  sharply,  and — there  was 
my  friend  Wiseman  quite  drunk.    I  said,  'What  do  you 

want?'    'Oh,  Brother  Tr  '  'Don't  "brother"  me  now! 

What  do  you  want?'  And  he  started  to  cry.  I  said,  'Now, 
you  get  out  o'  here  sharp !' 

A  MOST  HASTY  EXIT 

"My  room  is  just  a  hundred  feet  long.  I  got  hold  of  him 
by  the  coat  collar  and  started  him  on  a  run  for  the  door,  and 


246      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

the  farther  we  wxnt  the  faster  we  got — I  tell  you  we 
traveled — and  when  we  got  to  the  door,  instead  of  opening  it, 
I  just  gave  him  a  shove  and  helped  him  along  a  little  in  the 
good  old-fashioned  way,  and  he  went  all  in  a  heap  in  the 
street.  And  I  said  'There!  serves  you  right.'  I  said  to 
myself,  TVe  been  fooled  long  enough ;  that  fellow's  been 
hanging  round  this  Mission  till  he's  disgraced  it,  and  the 
quicker  we  get  rid  of  him  the  better.'  I  was  all  out  of  breath ; 
you  know  I'm  pretty  fat  to  run  a  dash. 

*T  went  back  to  the  office  to  get  my  breath,  and  to  pray.  I 
went  to  get  down  on  one  knee.  You  know  that  one-knee  pray- 
ing don't  get  very  far — you  only  get  half  a  blessing  on  one 
knee — guess  you've  tried  it  some  of  you.  I  said,  'I'll  just  have 
a  little  word  of  prayer,  and  ask  the  Lord  to  help  me  finish  up 
that  writing,  because  it's  late,  and  I've  been  wasting  time.'  I 
got  down  on  one  knee  and  said,  'Now,  Lord,  help  me  to  finish 
this  writing,  because  I've  been  interrupted  by  that  old  fellow, 
but  I'm  glad  I  did  the  right  thing  to  him.  Lord.  I  did  just 
the  right  thing.  And  I  want  you  to  help  me.  And  I  did  just 
the  right  thing  to  that  old  Wiseman.' 

'T  got  back  to  my  desk,  and  I  said,  'Now  where  did  I  leave 
off  ?  That  don't  sound  very  good ;  did  I  ever  write  that  ?' 
And  I  took  my  morning's  work  and  crumpled  it  all  up,  and 
said  'Everything's  all  out  of  shape.  I  guess  I'll  do  it  to- 
morrow morning.'  I  repeated  again,  *Father,  I  did  just  right 
by  that  old  fellow.'  And  I  kept  telling  God  how  right  I  had 
done  by  kicking  old  Wiseman  out  into  the  street. 

"I  went  to  the  telephone  and  rang  up  my  wife.  *Any  mail 
come  in?'  She  said,  'Where  are  you?'  'That  isn't* what  I 
asked  you;  is  there  any  mail  in?'    I  didn't  wait  for  any 


Th^  Great  Work  in  Phii^adkIvPhia  247 

answer.  I  swung  lip  the  receiver  and  said,  'Everybody's  act- 
ing like  a  fool ;  I  don't  know  what's  the  matter  with  them.' 
Then  I  said,  Xord,  I  did  just  right  with  that  old  fellow — just 
the  thing  I  ought  to  have  done  weeks  ago.' 

*'A  little  later  Mrs.  Trotter  rang  up.  She  said,  'Is  there 
anything  gone  wrong?'  I  said,  'Nothing  with  me,  but  what's 
the  matter  with  you?  You're  the  wrong  one;  it  isn't  me!' 
And  I  swung  the  receiver  up  again.  I  said,  'Wonder  what- 
ever has  got  into  her.  We  have  been  married  nearly  fifteen 
years,  and  she  never  acted  like  this  before.  I  don't  like  it 
a  bit' 

EVERYTHING  WENT  WRONG 

"I  went  across  to  the  Eagle  Hotel  and  ordered  my  dinner. 
I  didn't  want  to  go  home  and  see  my  wife  at  all ;  things  weren't 
going  good  enough.  Things  went  all  wrong  at  the  hotel.  I 
ordered  something  I  didn't  get,  and  I  got  something  I  didn't 
order.  The  soup  was  salt,  and  the  dinner  was  cold.  I  said, 
'The  cook's  crazy';  swallowed  something,  and  went  back  to  the 
office. 

"My  assistant  was  there — he  wasn't  due  for  two  hours  yet. 
I  looked  at  him,  and  he  looked  at  me.  I  said,  'Where  have 
you  been?'  'Why,'  he  said  'I  am  two  hours  early.'  I  said, 
*You  are  two  hours  late,  do  you  hear  me?'  He  looked  at  my 
eye  and  went  out;  he  said  to  the  other  fellows,  *I  guess  the 
old  man's  in  the  air.'  He  was  right ;  the  old  man  was  'in 
the  air.' 

"I  said  to  my  assistant,  I  want  you  to  take  the  meeting 
to-night.'  He  said,  *Why,  this  is  your  night.'  I  said,  'Am  I 
working  for  you,  or  kre  you  working  for  me?  You  do  as 
I  tell  you  !'    He  tdbk  the  meeting  that  night,  and  I  sat  down 


248      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

through  the  song-service.  The  piano  was  flat,  and  all  out  of 
tune,  and  everything  was  in  a  minor  key. 

"After  the  meeting  was  over  I  went  home.  We  went  to 
have  our  little  prayer  before  retiring,  and  I  took  up  the  Bible, 
but  could  not  find  anything  I  wanted  to  read,  so  threw  the 
Bible  into  the  lap  of  a  little  girl  who  has  lived  with  us  for 
several  years,  and  I  said,  *You  read.'  I  said  to  my  wife,  *You 
pray;  I  don't  feel  like  it.'  I  got  on  one  knee  again,  and  the 
family  worship  went  through.  I  had  the  strangest  kind  of 
feeling  that  when  my  wife  prayed  she  was  looking  at  me  out 
of  one  eye,  and  I  was  just  watching  for  her  to  do  it,  and  I 
would  have  called  her  down  for  it  if  she  had,  too. 

"About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  got  up  and  went  to  my 
old  large  rocking  chair — I  have  put  my  head  into  that  old  chair 
and  met  my  Lord  there  more  times  I  think  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world — and  I  said,  Xord,  I  want  to  know  what  is 
the  matter.  I  love  old  Wiseman,  but  it  was  the  only  way  to 
bring  him  round.'  And  the  Lord  brought  it  home  to  me, 
'Didn't  I  die  for  him  ?  Is  that  the  way  I  used  you  ?  When  you 
were  down  in  sin,  a  mighty  sight  worse  than  old  Wiseman,  I 
took  you  to  myself.'  I  said,  *Oh,  God,  forgive  men,  and  help 
me  to  find  old  Wiseman.'  Next  morning  I  began  hunting  for 
old  man  Wiseman.  I  said  to  the  boys,  'Now  you  go  down  into 
such  and  such  a  saloon,  and  you  go  over  to  So-and-So's 
barrel-house,  and  you  go  somewhere  else,  but  find  old  man 
Wiseman.'  They  couldn't  find  him.  And  it  was  nearly  a 
week  before  I  set  eyes  on  him  again. 

"We  were  on  the  Gospel  wagon  one  Sunday  afternoon,  and  I 
was  singing  away  on  the  front  of  it,  when  I  spotted  my  old 
man  coming  round  the  corner.    I  never  in  all  my  life  saw^  a 


THE  TEMPORARY  TABERNACLE  ON  THE  STRAND.  LONDON 


JEWISH  CHILDREN  WHO  ATTENDED  THE  CHILDREN'S  MEETINGS 


The  Great  Work  in  Phii.adei.phi a  251 

man  that  looked  quite  so  good  to  me  as  he  did.  There  he 
was — dirt,  moustache,  and  all, — but  he  looked  just  sweet  to  me. 
Instead  of  waiting  to  go  down  the  back  steps  to  get  at  him  I 
jumped  off  the  front  and  started  for  him.  I  had  on  a  new 
suit  of  clothes,  but  I  got  hold  of  old  Wiseman,  took  him  in  my 
arms,  and  just  pulled  that  dirty  old  head  over  on  my  shoulder. 
I  said,  'Old  man,  I  want  you  to  forgive  me ;  I  love  you,  old 
fellow.'  He  looked  at  me,  and  held  me  away  for  a  moment, 
and  he  said,  'Brother  Trotter,  you  do  love  me,  don't  you?' 

*Yes,  Wiseman,  I  do!' 

*  Yes,  Brother  Trotter,  I  know  you  do !' 

'And  Wiseman,  I  want  to  do  anything  I  can  for  you.' 

'He  says,  "Gi'me  a  quarter !"  ' 

"I  gave  the  old  man  a  quarter  all  right,  and  gave  him  half 
a  dollar,  too.  I  said,  'I  want  you  to  come  and  see  me.  Come 
down  early  to-night ;  there'll  be  a  big  crowd,  and  you'd  better 
come  early:  come  at  7  o'clock.'  At  seven  o'clock  he  was  at 
the  Mission,  and  he  came  forward  that  night,  and  gave  his 
heart  to  Jesus.    Oh,  friends  it  is  love  that  conquers !" 

PREACHED  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 
During  the  last  month  of  the  revival  Mr.  Alexander  was 
dining  one  day  with  the  editor  of  a  leading  daily  paper  when 
he  was  asked  if  he  would  not  like  to  have  two  columns  in  the 
newspaper  each  day  in  which  to  speak  to  the  people  of  Phila- 
delphia. He  gratefully  accepted  the  offer,  and  became  an 
editor  for  two  weeks.  Each  day  he  inserted  the  words  and 
music  of  a  Revival  Hymn ;  and  gave  a  number  of  touching  inci- 
dents regarding  their  influence  during  his  world-wide  re- 
vival tour. 


252      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


A  day  or  two  after  writing  the  preceding  pages  of  this 
chapter  I  received  a  letter  from  a  former  Philadelphia  news- 
paper man,  telling  of  the  effect  of  personal  work  in  his  life. 
It  is  one  of  the  strongest  statements  I  have  seen  how  soul- 
winning  will  completely  change  a  man's  life,  making  it  far 
richer,  happier  and  more  useful  to  the  world.  At  my  request 
Mr.  E.  E.  Marriott,  of  the  New  York  Mail  and  Express,  sent 
me  the  statement  which  follows : 

"It  was  the  whole-souled,  earnest  talk  of  Charles  M. 
Alexander  in  the  great  meetings  of  the  Torrey-Alexander 
Mission  in  Philadelphia,  1906,  that  converted  me  to  per- 
sonal work. 

'*Under  the  new  conviction  as  to  Christian  duty,  then  forced 
upon  my  mind  and  heart,  I  was  impelled  to  give  up  an  impor- 
tant newspaper  editorial  position  because  it  required  me  to  do 
secular  work  on  Sundays. 

"When  this  new  impulse  to  personal  work  came  to  me, 
I  had  been  a  Christian  for  more  than  five  years,  and  was  an 
active  member  of  Bethany  Persbyterian  Church,  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Andrew  and  Philip.  I  was,  and  had  been  for  years,  News 
Editor  on  the  staff  of  a  large  leading  newspaper ;  and  my  posi- 
tion required  me  to  be  at  work  at  the  office  on  Sunday  nights 
and  five  other  nights  in  the  week.  On  my  one  free  evening 
each  week  and  every  noon  and  afternoon  I  attended  the  Mis- 
sion meeting;  but  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  must  have  my 
Sundays  for  the  Lord's  work.  My  wife  was  one  of  the  most 
effective  personal  workers  in  all  the  meetings,  and  she  and  I 
prayed  that  I  might  find  the  right  way. 

"Finding  that  I  could  not  get  any  relief  from  Sunday  work 


The  Great  Work  in  Phii.adei.phi a  253 

in  the  Philadelphia  newspaper  field,  I  resolved  to  give  up  my 
position.  My  wife  and  I  agreed  on  this.  We  broke  up  our 
comfortable  home  on  Bainbridge  Street,  Philadelphia,  sold 
most  of  our  furniture;  and  I  gave  my  employers  two  weeks' 
notice.  Some  of  my  friends  shook  their  heads,  and  said  they 
thought  I  was  acting  rashly  in  giving  up  so  good  a  position; 
but  I  knew  in  whom  I  believed,  and  was  persuaded  that  *all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him.' 

*'We  moved  to  New  York,  and  the  first  newspaper  to  which 
1  applied  gave  me  an  editorial  position  which  I  still  hold,  and 
which  allows  me  to  have  my  evenings  and  Sundays  free.  It 
cost  me  about  $500  in  expenses  and  loss  of  income  in  the  few 
weeks  necessary  to  make  the  change,  but  how  great  has  been 
the  reward ! 

**In  the  twelve  months  that  have  passed  since  I  took  this 
step,  I  have  been  greatly  blessed  in  doing  personal  work.  My 
wife  and  I  have  given  our  Sundays  and  evenings  as  volunteers 
at  evangelistic  meetings  in  tents,  Mission  halls  and  in  open-air 
services;  and  we  have  had  the  inexpressible  joy  of  leading 
more  than  120  individuals  to  accept  Jesus  as  their  Saviour, 
and  to  connect  themselves  with  the  visible  Church  of  Christ! 

Wasn't  it  worth  while?" 


XIX 


A  NEW  DEPARTURE— "REVIVAL  LUNCHEONS" 

Some  of  the  most  far-reaching  results  of  the  great  work  of 
grace  in  Philadelphia  occurred  through  a  visit  paid  by  Mr. 
Alexander  to  a  small  church  in  West  Philadelphia,  called  the 
Oak  Park  Church.  That  night  a  revival  flame  was  kindled 
which  thrilled  the  community,  and  led  scores  into  the  King- 
dom. The  spark  of  revival  was  ignited  in  a  most  unusual 
manner.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the  basement  of  a  new 
building,  and  only  about  two  hundred  people  were  present. 
Mr.  Alexander  did  not  sing  for  the  people  at  all,  but  talked 
to  them  about  Christ's  power  to  save. 

They  were  cold  and  unresponsive  as  he  spoke.  But  he  was 
determined  not  to  let  the  meeting  end  without  some  personal 
work.  As  soon  as  the  service  concluded,  he  walked  down 
into  the  audience  and  began  speaking  to  a  large,  fine  looking 
ma^,  asking  him  if  he  was  saved.  A  dozen  men  soon  gathered 
around  him,  and  in  a  few  moments  they  were  on  their  knees  in 
prayer.  As  the  little  group  prayed  the  fire  fell  from  heaven, 
and  a  work  began,  the  ultimate  result  of  which  Only  eternity 
will  reveal.  Over  one  hundred  persons  confessed  Christ  in  less 
than  three  weeks  as  a  direct  outcome  of  that  meeting.  The 
church  was  transformed,  and  men  were  enlisted  for  Christ  who 
became  among  the  most  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  revival. 

One  of  the  little  group  who  knelt  in  prayer  that  night  was 
Mr.  John  H.  McBride,  a  prominent  r^al  estate  dealer  of  Phfla- 


A,  New  Departure — ''Revivai.  Luncheons''  255 

delphia.  He  declared  that  he  had  been  a  church  member  for 
twenty-five  years,  but  not  until  that  night  had  he  really 
accepted  Christ  as  his  personal  Saviour.  In  speaking  to  mc 
later  of  that  memorable  scene  he  said :  ''The  tender  way  in 
which  Mr.  Alexander  placed  his  hand  on  miy  shoulder  simply 
won  me,  and  when  he  asked  me  if  I  was  a  Christian  I  became 
instantly  convinced  that  my  sins  were  not  forgiven,  for  I 
realized  that  my  life  had  been  no  different  from  that  of  other 
men  of  the  world.  I  could  not  resist  when  he  said  immediately 
after  that,  Xet  us  pray.'  On  my  knees  I  asked  God  to  forgive 
my  sin  and  take  away  my  pride,  for  that  was  one  reason  why  I 
had  not  fully  surrendered.  From  that  moment  my  life  was 
entirely  changed;  and  I  determined  to  for  ever  do  personal 
work  and  witness  for  my  Saviour.  During  these  resolves  I 
could  hear  the  cries  of  other  men  who  had  evidently  been  living 
the  life  I  lived,  and  were  now  sobbing  tears  of  repentance; 
and  in  a  few  moments  our  little  church  was  turned  into  a 
place  of  wonderful  joy  because  of  the  realization  of  sins  for- 
given.'' 

In  speaking  of  the  results  which  immediately  followed,  Mr. 
McBride  said:  ''The  locality  was  transformed  as  the  result  of 
that  one  meeting.  The  whole  community  seemed  to  be  aflame 
with  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  began  a  prayer  circle  each  Sat- 
urday night  with  our  pastor.  Rev.  G.  E.  Raitt,  as  leader. 
Already  our  prayers  have  been  answered  in  a  wonderful  man- 
ner. At  our  first  circle  meeting  three  were  saved,  and  one  of 
the  three  led  three  others  to  Christ.  Last  Saturday  night 
seventeen  men  and  five  women  were  present,  and  some  of  them 
remained  two  hours  and  a  half."  Over  a  year  later  I  visited 
the  Oak  Park  Presbyterian  Church,  and  found  the  Prayer 


256      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

Circle  was  still  continued  and  the  leaders  were  still  on  fire 
with  a  passion  for  souls. 

A  NOVELTY  IN  THE  WORK 

Mr.  McBride  was  so  grateful  to  Mr.  Alexander  for  start- 
ing a  revival  flame  in  his  church  that  he  arranged  a  unique 
business  men's  luncheon  at  a  downtown  hotel,  in  honor  of  the 
singing  evangelist.  Forty-three  young  business  and  profes- 
sional men  were  present.  The  luncheon  began  with  the  sing- 
ing of  a  song;  and  before  it  had  proceeded  very  far  the  revival 
spirit  burst  forth,  and  the  power  of  God  fell  upon  the  men 
just  as  they  were  eating.  One  after  another  arose  from  their 
seats  at  the  table,  and  with  tremulous  voices  confessed  that  they 
had  not  been  leading  right  lives,  while  five  men  stood  up,  and 
then  and  there  publicly  accepted  Christ. 

Tears  ran  down  the  cheeks  of  those  strong  young  business 
men  at  this  manifestation  of  Gk)d's  power;  and  the  luncheon 
closed  with  the  singing  of  two  revival  hymns.  Mr.  McBride 
declared  that  as  a  result  of  the  gathering  fifty  persons  were 
led  to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour  within  a  few  days.  The 
gathering  was  termed  a  "Revival  Luncheon."  It  was  the  first 
ever  held  in  Philadelphia;  and  it  created  wide-spread  interest 
as  the  press  of  the  city  described  the  gathering.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander declared  that  it  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  scenes 
that  he  had  witnessed  in  his  entire  tour  of  the  world. 

^'Revival  Luncheons'*  now  became  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing features  of  the  revival.  They  were  held  every  few  days 
at  some  down-town  hotel  or  restaurant  or  in  a  business  build- 
ing, and  were  presided  over  by  Mr,  Alexander.  At  five  of 
the  luncheons  eighteen  persons  declared  they  would  accept 


A  N^w  Departure: — "Revivai.  Luncheons"  25/ 

Christ,  while  scores  publicly  stated  that  they  would  engage 
in  soul-winning  as  never  before.  The  luncheons  uniformly 
began  with  a  revival  hymn,  and  ended  with  a  prayer.  Scarcely 
would  the  first  course  be  concluded  before  Mr.  Alexander 
would  call  upon  some  business  man  to  tell  the  story  of  his  con- 
version ;  and  then  one  rousing  testimony  would  follow  another 
for  nearly  or  quite  two  hours. 

A  FISHING  EXCURSION 

At  one  of  these  luncheons  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  there 
was  present  Mr.  G.  W.  Cole,  of  the  staff  of  the  ''Christian 
Endeavor  World."  He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  scenes 
witnessed,  and  wrote  a  graphic  description  of  the  event  for  his 
paper,  entitled  '*A-fishing  with  Alexander."    He  said  : 

'*I  witnessed  in  Philadelphia  the  other  day  the  greatest  man- 
fishing  scene  that  it  was  ever  my  good  fortune  to  behold.  It 
was  not  one  of  those  places  where  there  is  a  great  sea  of 
faces,  and,  when  the  net  is  cast  and  hauled,  a  multitude  of 
sinners  are  gathered  in.  It  was  a  deep,  quiet  pool,  with  rod 
and  reel ;  and  a  past-master  in  the  art  of  fishing  for  men  was 
there,  casting  the  bait  and  angling  for  the  souls  of  men. 

''They  called  it  in  Philadelphia  an  'Alexander  Revival 
Luncheon.'  I  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  until  I  got  the 
invitation  to  attend.  It  was  in  the  banquet  hall  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  on  Chestnut  Street.  There  were 
seventy-five  to  a  hundred  men  there,  mostly  business  and  pro- 
fessional men,  just  two  or  three  Reverends.  Alexander,  the 
man  whose  singing  and  leading  in  revival  songs  have  made 
him  famous  around  the  world,  was  there,  but  he  didn't  sing; 
no,  not  a  note. 


2s8      Twic:^  Around  the  World  With  Ai^kxander 

*'We  had  hardly  begun  to  eat  when  swish  went  the  Hne,  and 
the  fishing  began  in  dead  earnest.Never  before  was  I  in  any 
kind  of  reHgious  meeting  where  formaHty  and  conventionality 
got  such  a  cold  shoulder.  I  told  them  afterwards  that  it  was 
the  biggest  spiritual  ice-breaker  I  had  ever  seen,  and  I 
wished  they  could  let  us  have  it  in  Boston  for  a  while.  Man 
after  man  was  on  his  feet,  a  lawyer,  a  salesman,  a  news- 
paper man,  a  read  estate  dealer,  and  what  not,  testifying  to 
what  the  grace  of  God  had  recently  been  doing  to  transform  his 
life  and  turn  him  into  a  fisher  of  men.  A  confinned  drinking 
man  was  next  on  his  feet,  and  then  a  backslider,  a  man  who 
said  he  got  religion  in  his  youth,  but  now  he  had  found  Christ. 
And  so  it  went. 

''With  such  a  liberal  scattering  of  fresh  bait,  the  fish  began 
to  rise  one  after  the  other,  for  it  had  been  arranged  that  every 
Christian  man  invited  to  the  luncheon  should  bring  as  his 
guest  an  unconverted  friend.  At  first  Alexander  stood  on  the 
bank.  He  landed  one  noble  fellow  who  sat  in  the  chair  right 
next  to  him.  But  pretty  soon  he  waded  right  in.  Opening  my 
eyes,  after  a  period  of  silent,  united  prayer,  I  saw  him  right 
across  the  table  from  me,  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  with  his 
arm  over  the  shoulder  of  a  fine  young  fellow.  He  couldn't 
get  him,  so  he  turned  to  his  companion.  Such  a  frank,  plain, 
direct,  honest  appeal.  He  didn't  make  it  easy,  but  he  did 
make  it  attractive.  In  a  minute,  while  the  rest  of  us  continued 
in  prayer,  these  two  young  men  were  on  their  feet,  confessing 
to  their  fellows  their  decision  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  Christ. 

"And  so  it  continued.  The  luncheon  lasted  perhaps  two 
hours.  The  men  who  were  there  will  remember  it  as  long  as 
they  live.'* 


A  New  Departure — ''Revivai,  Luncheons''  259 

GET  TO  WORK  AT  ONCE 

One  of  the  speakers  at  this  luncheon  was  Dr.  Charles  R. 
Watson,  head  of  the  Personal  Workers  of  the  Mission.  He 
told  how  his  ideas  of  personal  work  had  recently  under- 
gone a  complete  transformation : 

"Before  Mr.  Alexander  came  here  I  believed  in  personal 
work;  believed  in  it  mightily,  theoretically,  and  practiced  it 
some.  But  at  that  time  I  alw^ays  had  an  idea  that  you  had  to 
know  a  man  about  ten  years  before  you  could  be  polite  enough 
to  talk  to  him  about  his  souFs  salvation.  I  never  thought  one 
could  just  hitch  up  to  a  street  car  and  stay  out  in  the  cold  with 
a  conductor  and  talk  to  him  about  his  soul.  I  used  to  think 
you  ought  to  approach  it  gradually — a  sort  of  'inclined  plane' 
process,  and  have  the  inclined  plane  about  a  mile  long,  and  by 
the  time  you  had  gotten  to  the  top  the  fellow  had  gone  by  and 
the  opportunity,  too.  I  think  the  greatest  thing  this  Mission 
has  taught  us  is  that  even  on  a  train,  on  a  street  car,  or 
wherever  you  may  happen  to  be,  you  can  open  the  conversa- 
tion with  a  stranger  and  go  right  on  to  his  heart;  not  ask 
him  whether  he  is  a  church  member ;  not  try  to  get  him  to  be 
good  merely;  but  to  just  ask  him  the  straight  blunt  question 
whether  he  is  saved.  I  must  confess  I  have  gotten  a  tre- 
mendous lot  out  of  the  Mission  in  learning  that  lesson  that  one 
could  do  personal  work  suddenly,  and  that  by  following  the 
Providence  of  God  he  will  show  us  where  to  do  it.'' 

Another  speaker  was  an  insurance  manager,  who  was  con- 
verted in  the  meetings,  Mr.  M.  B.  Lockyer.  He  told  of  an 
interesting  ''Committee  of  Seven,"  which  had  recently  been 
organized  in  his  church : 

"We  have  a  man  in  Germantown  who  hadn't  been  inside  a 


26o     Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

church  for  twenty-five  years.  We  have  a  committee  of  seven 
in  connection  with  our  Young  People's  Society  there  which 
meets  on  Saturday  night  for  the  definite  purpose  of  praying 
for  the  success  of  our  Sunday  night  meeting.  We  started  to 
pray  for  this  particular  man;  and  entered  into  a  covenant  with 
ourselves  to  pray  regularly  for  him  three  times  a  day  as  long 
as  it  might  be  necessary  to  bring  him  over.  It  was  necessary 
to  pray  three  times  a  day  for  five  weeks ;  and  our  prayers 
were  answered  two  weeks  ago  last  Sunday  night.  He  came  to 
church  that  night;  and  he  was  so  uneasy  all  the  time.  He 
said  to  me,  Xockyer,  I've  got  to  do  something;  I  don't  know 
what  it  is;  there  is  something  at  work  with  me.'  He  didn't 
know  that  he  was  working  against  the  prayers  of  seven 
people  and  those  of  his  wife.  Our  pastor  put  the  invitation  so 
lovingly  that  he  couldn't  resist  it.  He  went  up  and  took  Jesus, 
and  to-day  he  is  feeling  better  than  in  all  his  life." 

MINISTER  CHANGES  HIS  METHOD 
At  another  ''Revival  Luncheon"  at  a  downtown  restaurant, 
at  which  four  men  made  the  great  decision,  the  pastor  of  a 
large  church  testified  that  the  idea  of  personal  soul-winning 
had  gripped  him  with  such  force  that  it  would  mean  a  complete 
transformation  in  his  ministry.  A  Sunday  School  Superin- 
tendent arose  and  told  an  experience  resulting  from  Mr.  Alex- 
ander's visit  to  his  church  the  preceding  Sunday,  which  deeply 
touched  all  who  were  present.    He  said: 

''It  took  a  great  deal  of  courage  in  me  to  admit  that  I 
hadn't  been  living  right.  I  have  been  superintendent  and 
teacher  in  the  Sunday  School  for  20  years ;  but  there  was  one 
thing  in  my  life  that  I  felt  ought  to  be  eliminated.    My  wife 


A  Nkw  Departure — ''Revival  Luncheons"  261 

and  I  get  along  happily,  and  we  have  five  children.  They 
annoy  us  sometimes,  you  know,  and  we  would  fly  into  a  rage. 
I  told  my  wife  that  we  ought  to  get  right  with  God,  and  thus 
be  able  to  overcome  that.  Last  Sunday  I  saw  her  get  up  and 
start  down  the  church  aisle;  I  couldn't  stand  that,  I  started 
after  her,  and  we  went  down  together.  And  our  house  has 
been  a  different  place  since,  thank  God." 

At  another  luncheon  tendered  Mr.  Alexander  by  Dr.  J.  R. 
Miller,  the  emphasis  was  placed  upon  personal  work  and 
family  prayers.  A  prominent  leader  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  so  aroused  that  he  began  the  custom  of  having  a 
little  prayer-meeting  with  the  employes  in  his  office  every 
morning  before  beginning  the  day's  work.  The  six  or  eight 
people  in  the  office  would  meet  together  for  10  to  15  minutes 
while  a  brief  passage  of  Scripture  was  read;  then  every  one 
present  would  recite  a  verse  of  Scripture,  and  the  little  ser- 
vice closed  with  two  or  three  brief  prayers. 

INQUIRY  ROOMS  OPENED 
Yet  another  result  of  the  Oak  Park  Church  revival  and  of 
the  Revival  Luncheons  was  the  opening  of  Inquiry  Rooms  in 
an  office  building  in  the  heart  of  the  business  district  of  Phila- 
delphia. Mr.  Alexander  had  long  had  in  mind  something  of 
the  kind ;  and  when  he  broached  the  plan  to  the  young  business 
men  they  approved  the  idea  at  once,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
rooms  were  opened.  They  were  handsomely  furnished 
through  the  generosity  of  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  It  was 
planned  that  the  most  noticeable  thing  as  one  entered  the  rooms 
should  be  a  framed  placard  reading:  "How  Long  Since  you 
Wrote  to  Mother?'' 


262      Twice  Around  the  Wori^d  With  Alexander 

The  aim  of  the  room  was  to  afford  a  quiet  place  to  lead  men 
to  Christ,  amid  the  rush  of  modern  business  life,  and  also  to 
offer  a  place  of  easy  access  where  men  with  spiritual  difficulties 
could  go  and  get  expert  spiritual  counsel.  From  the  beginning 
the  rooms  were  successful.  Scores  of  men  found  Christ  in 
them  during  the  first  few  weeks.  Until  the  Philadelphia  cam- 
paign ended  they  were  in  charge  of  Rev.  W.  S.  Jacoby,  one  of 
the  Mission  party,  and  formerly  Assistant  Pastor  of  Dr. 
Torrey's  Church  in  Chicago.  His  spirit-filled  life  to-day,  and 
his  past  life,  as  a  policeman,  sailor  and  drunkard,  made  him  an 
ideal  man  for  the  position,  for  he  was  enabled  to  cope  with  the 
problems  of  men  in  all  walks  of  life. 

During  the  first  three  days  after  they  were  opened,  four 
men  were  converted  outright,  five  backsliders  were  restored, 
and  twelve  were  given  spiritual  help.  Among  the  visitors 
were  all  sorts  of  people,  business  men,  traveling  men, 
drunkards  and  criminals. 

When  I  asked  Mr.  Jacoby  about  some  of  the  men  who  had 
come  to  him  for  help  he  said : 

''One  of  the  cases  dealt  with  in  the  Inquiry  Rooms  was  a 
gentleman  who  came  in  and  said  that  there  was  something 
wrong  with  his  Christian  experience,  and  he  wanted  to  know 
what  it  was.  He  had  seen  in  others  an  experience  which  he 
had  not,  and  he  said,  'I  want  it.'  For  example,  he  told  me  of 
a  young  man  who  worked  under  him  who  was  a  habitual 
drunkard;  the  minute  his  wages  were  put  into  his  hands  he 
would  go  off  to  the  rumship,  and  in  a  little  while  he  would  be 
penniless.  He  was  becoming  a  hopeless  case.  One  day 
recently  this  gentleman  was  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  when  he 
noticed,  in  front  of  him,  the  young  man  who  had  been  a 


A  New  Departure — ''Revival  Luncheons"  263 

drunkard,  singing  'Grace  enough  for  me/  with  such  a  look  on 
his  face  as  he  had  never  seen  there  before.  He  met  him 
shortly  afterwards,  and  asked  what  had  caused  the  change; 
and  the  former  drunkard  replied  that  he  had  gone  one  day  to 
the  Academy  of  Music,  with  his  bottle  in  his  pocket,  and  they 
had  sung  'Grace  Enough  for  me.'  The  power  of  God  came 
upon  him  through  those  words,  and  he  was  converted,  and  had 
since  become  enthusiastic  in  his  work  for  Christ.'' 

Through  the  help  of  Mr.  Jacoby  the  visitor  quickly  accepted 
Christ,  and  he,  too,  found  peace.  Mr.  Jacoby  also  told  of  an 
attorney  who  came  into  the  room,  burdened  with  sin,  but  went 
out  radiantly  happy.    He  said : 

"Anotlier  case  dealt  with  was  an  attorney  who  came  from 
the  West  to  Philadelphia  to  transact  some  business,  but  getting 
acquainted  with  a  woman  and  becoming  enamored  he  was 
drawn  away  into  sin,  and  for  several  years  had  been  away 
from  home  and  wife  and  going  deeper  and  deeper  into  sin. 
He  had  almost  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  committed 
the  unpardonable  sin,  for  he  had  once  known  God  and  Jesus 
Christ  as  his  Saviour.  In  showing  him  the  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture necessary  for  one  in  his  condition  he  finally,  through 
God's  Spirit,  saw  the  truth  that  there  was  forgiveness  and 
mercy  for  him,  accepted  it,  and  in  leaving  the  room,  said, 
'My  heart  has  not  been  so  light  since  the  day  I  was  born.'  " 

At  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  campaign  the  Inquiry 
Rooms  were  found  to  be  so  successful  and  helpful  that  they 
were  continued  for  some  time.  For  several  weeks  they  were 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  F.  A.  Mills,  who  acted  as  a  soloist  in 
addition  to  Mr.  Butler,  during  the  last  weeks  of  the  work  in 
Philadelphia.    Each  day  a  noon  prayer-meeting  was  held  by 


264      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

the  men  who  were  filled  with  a  passion  for  souls,  and  a  longing 
to  keep  absolutely  right  with  God. 

CONVERTS  TELL  THEIR  STORY 
Largely  as  an  outcome  of  the  ''Revival  Luncheons,"  there 
was  held  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  near  the  close  of  the  Mis- 
sion, a  remarkable  converts'  testimony  meeting.  It  was  for 
men  only,  although  a  choir  of  nearly  one  thousand  voices, 
mostly  women,  occupied  the  platform.  The  meeting  was  led 
by  Mr.  Alexander,  who  delivered  no  set  sermon,  but  con- 
ducted it  largely  on  the  lines  of  the  Welsh  Revival  meetings. 
He  called  upon  one  after  another  of  the  converts  to  tell  the 
story  how  their  lives  had  been  transformed  by  the  power  of 
God.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  present  in  prayer;  and  the  big 
audience  of  about  three  thousand  men  was  deeply  moved  by 
the  thrilling  experiences  of  men  in  politics,  business  and  the 
various  professions.  Among  those  who  spoke  were  James 
Briggs,  the  converted  police  magistrate ;  John  H.  McBride,  the 
converted  real  estate  dealer;  M.  B.  Lock}'er,  converted  insur- 
ance man ;  Ben  T.  Jenkins,  another  converted  real  estate  man 
and  a  former  schoolmate  of  Mr.  Alexander,  and  a  number  of 
personal  workers  including  John  Wanamaker,  Dr.  Cochrane, 
H.  Wellington  Wood,  Allan  Sutherland  and  Ben  T.  Welsh. 
After  nearly  two  hours  of  song  and  stirring  testimony,  Mr. 
Alexander  called  upon  those  who  would  accept  Christ  to  arise ; 
and  one  after  another  quickly  stood  up  in  all  parts  of  the 
building.  After  68  had  arisen,  Mr.  Alexander  asked  them  to 
come  down  to  the  front  of  the  building,  and  repeat  in  concert, 
''I  accept  Jesus  as  my  Saviour,  my  Lord  and  my  King."  A 
Philadelphia  newspaper  termed  the  gathering  ''the  most 


A  New  Departure: — "Revivai.  Luncheons"  265 

remarkable  prayer  and  testimony  meeting  ever  held  in 
Philadelphia." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  three  months'  campaign  a  great 
farewell  meeting  was  held  to  praise  God  for  the  victories  won. 
The  great  Armory  was  early  packed  with  six  thousand  people, 
to  say  good-bye  to  the  evangelists  and  unite  in  thanks- 
giving for  the  awakening.  Among  the  speakers  of  the  evening 
were  two  Bishops  and  leading  Philadelphia  pastors  of  various 
denominations.  Dr.  C.  E.  Bronson,  a  prominent  Presbyterian 
minister,  said : 

"I  feel  sure  that,  when  the  religious  history  of  Philadelphia 
is  written,  it  will  be  said  that  the  Tor rey- Alexander  Mission 
was  one  of  the  great  religious  movements  in  the  two  hundred 
years  of  Philadelphia's  history." 


XX 


THE  STORY  OF  MEL.  TROTTER 

At  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  campaign,  a  number  of  busi- 
ness men,  who  had  been  set  on  fire  with  a  passion  for  souls  dur- 
ing the  three  months'  Mission,  accompanied  Mr.  Alexander  as 
far  as  Washington  on  his  way  to  Atlanta. 

At  Wilmington,  Delaware,  however,  two  meetings  had  been 
arranged.  The  Gospel  singer  and  his  party  stopped  there; 
and  Mr.  Alexander  conducted  two  meetings  which  proved  to 
be  among  the  most  remarkable  ever  held  in  the  city.  At  the 
first  one,  in  the  afternoon,  the  Opera  House  was  well  filled, 
while  at  night  it  was  packed  to  the  doors ;  and  for  the  hundreds 
unable  to  obtain  admission  an  overflow  meeting  was  held  at  a 
nearby  church.  At  each  service  Mr.  Alexander  called  upon 
the  business  men  to  give  brief  testimonies  of  Christ's  power  to 
save  and  to  keep ;  and  these  deeply  impressed  the  audience.  In 
the  evening  he  asked  Melvin  E.  Trotter,  to  tell  the  story  how 
his  life  had  been  transformed  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel.  Mr. 
Trotter,  who  had  been  assisting  the  evangelists  in  the  Phila- 
delphia campaign,  had  been  saved  nine  years  before  in  Chicago 
when  on  his  way  to  the  Lake  to  commit  suicide ;  and  to-day 
has  the  largest  rescue  Mission  in  the  world  at  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan.  As  he  told  the  story  of  his  redemption  with  pas- 
sionate eloquence  hundreds  were  melted  to  tears. 

As  the  result  of  the  songs  and  appeals  of  Mr.  Alexander, 
of  the  testimonies  of  the  business  men,  of  the  stirring  address 


The  Story  of  Meu  Trotter 


269 


by  Mr.  Trotter,  and  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
mighty  power,  about  seventy  persons  made  a  public  con- 
fession of  their  faith  in  Christ  at  the  afternoon  and  evening 
meetings.  The  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  who  had 
arranged  the  meetings,  was  jubilant  over  the  result. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Alexander  and  his  party  of  business 
men  took  the  train  for  Washington,  where  an  audience  with 
President  Roosevelt  had  been  arranged  for  noon,  and  a  Gospel 
meeting  in  the  New  York  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  for  the 
evening.  That  was  the  church  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln  had 
worshipped. 

In  his  meeting  with  the  President,  Mr.  Alexander,  with 
characteristic  generosity,  gave  up  the  pleasure  of  a  private 
interview,  in  order  to  introduce  nearly  a  score  of  his  friends 
to  the  Chief  Executive. 

Late  that  night,  after  the  inspiring  Gospel  service  was  over, 
Mr.  Alexander  departed  for  Atlanta.  At  the  railway  station, 
as  one  after  another  of  the  stalwart  business  men  bade  him 
good-bye,  there  were  moist  eyes  and  touching  farewells.  The 
scene  reminded  me  strongly  of  those  pictures  recorded  in  the 
life  of  Whitefield,  the  great  revivalist,  when  he  would  be 
accompanied  a  part  of  the  way  from  one  city  to  another,  by  a 
group  of  friends  on  horseback ;  and  how  at  the  hour  of  part- 
ing they  would  fall  upon  one  anothers'  necks,  and  weep  for 
joy  at  the  victories  won,  and  for  grief  at  the  sad  parting. 

It  was  also  at  this  period  that  Mr.  Alexander  was  reluctantly 
compelled  to  part  from  Mr.  Rupert  Lowe,  his  secretary,  who 
had  been  his  friend  and  companion  for  nearly  four  years.  Mr. 
Lowe  was  called  back  to  his  home  in  Geelong,  Australia,  to 
enter  upon  important  business  relations. 


270     Twice:  Around  the  World  With  Ai^kxander 

A  THRILLING  LIFE  HISTORY 

I  now  want  to  give  my  readers  the  life  story  of  Mr.  Melvin 
E.  Trotter  in  his  own  words  as  he  told  it  with  thrilling  effect 
on  several  occasions  at  Philadelphia,  and  at  Wilmington, 
Delaware.    He  said : 

'^Brother  Alexander  likes  to  have  me  with  him;  I  believe 
he  loves  me — I  know  he  does — but  he  sort  of  takes  me  around 
as  a  kind  of  'horrible  example,'  a  'Before'  and  'After'  taking 
advertisement.  Did  you  ever  see  one  of  them?  you  know — a 
lean  man  up  one  side,  and  a  big,  fat,  prosperous-looking  one  up 
the  other  side:  'Before'  and  'After.'  I'm  'After'— after  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  found  me.  He  found  me  in  Chicago  one 
night  nine  years  ago  and  more,  and  he  saved  me. 

"I  started  out  in  life  with  as  good  a  chance  as  any  one  you 
can  find.  My  father  would  have  let  me  go  to  school,  but,  of 
course,  I  did  not  need  it.  I  knew  so  much  more  than  the  old 
man,  so  I  did  not  get  any  schooling.  I  went  out  into  the  world 
and  learned  the  barber  trade ;  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  I  was 
drawing  a  man's  salary.  That's  a  bad  thing  for  a  boy.  I  was 
able  to  indulge  in  many  things  that  did  me  harm. 

"I  got  to  know  a  great  deal  about  four-legged  Trotters.  I 
was  always  stuck  on  the  finest  horses;  and  I  was  a  good 
fellow.  And  I  kept  on  drinking,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew 
I  couldn't  stop.  The  friends  I  had  found  that  when  they 
needed  me  the  most  I  was  not  there ;  and  they  cut  me  out,  and 
bye  and  bye  I  got  down  to  drinking  sheenies,  three  for  five. 

"And  I  couldn't  help  it.  I  tried  to  break  away  and  get  into 
the  country.  A  man  named  Cook  gave  me  a  splendid  big 
black  horse,  one  of  the  best  horses  I  ever  drove,  and  I 
got  a  buggy  and  a  job  in  the  country.    I  moved  out  into  the 


The  Story  oi^  Mel.  Trotter 


271 


country,  and  made  a  lot  of  money.  My  wife  would  go  with  me 
to  keep  me  sober,  and  I  would  stay  stober  awhile,  and  how 
I  wanted  to  stay  sober,  and  Fd  say,  Til  never  take  another 
drink  as  long  as  I  live/ 

ELEVEN  MILES  FOR  DRINK 

*'One  night  I  went  to  put  my  horse  in  a  barn  after  a  long 
drive,  and  took  my  wife  to  the  house.  It  was  snowing,  and 
one  of  the  coldest  days  in  Iowa.  All  of  a  sudden  the  devil 
seemed  to  get  hold  of  me.  I  had  driven  my  horse  nearly  as 
fast  as  he  would  go;  but  I  started  him  out  again,  and  drove 
eleven  miles  and  came  back  home  with  eleven  big  drinks  inside 
of  me,  and  three  big  quarts  of  whiskey  in  my  buggy,  and  my 
wife  was  heart-broken.  She  looked  into  my  face,  and  she  said, 
'I  didn't  know  where  you  had  gone,  but  if  I  could  have  walked 
through  this  awful  storm  I  would  have  come  to  look  for  you.' 
I  did  not  want  to  do  that!  I  would  have  given  my  life  if  I 
could  have  stayed  sober,  but  it  wasn't  in  me. 

''Another  night  I  went  on  a  drunk  after  I  had  been  sober 
eleven  weeks  and  three  days,  with  a  suspended  sentence  hang- 
ing over  me.  I  went  out  into  the  country,  and  I  was  having 
a  good  time,  and  I  drove  up  to  a  saloon,  put  my  horse  in  the 
shed,  and  said,  'There's  the  old  horse  out  there  in  the  buggy ; 
I  want  to  give  everybody  something  to  drink,  and  just  keep 
right  on  paying  until  the  horse  is  drunk  up,'  I  was  just 
simply  imbecile ;  there  was  nothing  else  to  it.  And  I  tried  my 
level  best.  I  do  not  look  like  a  man  that  goes  down  easy, 
but  I  just  could  not  stop  it.  I  went  on  worse  and  worse,  and 
finally  I  got  back  to  the  city  again ;  and  the  drunks  got  oftener 
and  oftener,  and  they'd  get  a  little  bit  longer. 


272      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

'1  tried  for  six  years  to  quit.  There  is  no  fun  in  that 
Every  time  I  would  fall  after  promising  my  wife  and  my 
boy  and  myself  that  I  would  never  take  it  again.  Then  when 
I  would  fall  I  would  be  just  that  much  lower  in  my  own  esti- 
mation; I  would  hate  myself.  Finally  when  I  would  get 
drunk  I  would  not  go  home.  I  got  to  staying  away  on  ?< 
week's  drunk,  three  or  four  days  at  first,  and  then  gradually 
longer  and  longer.  I  would  commit  burglary  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  awful  craving  for  drink* 

GOLD  CURE  USELESS 

*'They  were  trying  to  turn  me  off  the  whiskey,  but  they  did 
not  give  me  any  remedy.  You  cannot  tie  a  big  fellow  like  me 
with  a  bit  of  ribbon.  It  needs  something  more  than  that. 
They  tried  the  gold  cure;  and  they  gave  me  a  hypodermic 
syringe  and  three  bottles  of  medicine;  but  I  sold  the  whole 
outfit  in  fifteen  minutes  for  three  drinks  of  whiskey.  And 
I  want  to  tell  you  they  couldn't  hold  me  with  that  thing.  I 
needed  Jesus  in  my  heart  before  the  old  things  could  pass 
away  and  all  things  become  new.  That  is  my  favorite  verse  in 
the  Bible — II.  Cor.  5 :  17 — 'Therefore  if  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature;  old  things  are  passed  away;  behold  all 
things  are  become  new.'  Present  tense;  you  do  not  have  to 
wait  till  you  get  to  heaven  before  all  this  happens.  The  old 
things' — the  old  appetites,  the  old  desires  are  passed  away. 
Where  are  they  ?   You  can  search  me ;  I  do  not  know. 

"God  gave  us  only  one  baby,  and  when  the  little  fellow 
was  two  years  and  a  month  old  I  went  to  our  little  home  one 
day — It  had  aliiicst  ceased  to  be  a  home— I  went  home  after  a 
ten  days'  drunk,  and  found  him  dead  in  his  mother's  arms.  I 


MR.  ROBERT  HARKNESS  AND  MR.  ALEXANDER  IN  NEW  ZEALAND 


Thk  Story  oi^  Mel.  Trotter  275 


will  never  forget  that  day.  I  was  simply  a  slave,  and  I  knew 
it.  It  pretty  nearly  broke  my  heart.  I  said,  '1  am  a  murderer. 
I  am  anything  but  a  man ;  and  I  cannot  stand  it,  and  I  won't 
stand  it,  and  I  will  just  end  my  life.'  But  I  did  not  have  cour- 
age enough.  At  my  mother's  knee  I  had  been  taught  to  say, 
'Now  I  lay  me,'  and  I  knew  there  was  a  God;  I  did  not  dare 
face  him ;  I  couldn't  stand  suicide. 

''Mrs.  Trotter  was  alone  with  the  little  body  when  she  laid 
it  down,  dead ;  and  she  turned  away  to  God,  and  said,  'Father, 
I  have  had  my  thoughts  on  my  baby  more  than  on  you,  and 
now  I  want  to  turn  away  to  you.  You  are  all  I  have  left.' 
Mrs.  Trotter  had  never  been  away  from  our  baby  one  hour 
from  the  time  he  was  born  till  the  time  he  died  in  her  arms. 
She  had  a  drunken  husband,  and  her  only  joy  and  hope  was  in 
her  baby,  and,  oh,  how  she  cared  for  him!  And  she  turned 
around  from  the  dead  child  and  she  said,  Xord,  I  am  going  to 
serve  you,  to  help  others  in  trouble.  I  have  my  husband' ;  and 
she  began  to  pray  for  me.  That's  a  thing  that  counts ;  when 
a  wife  gets  hold  of  God  without  letting  go  there's  something 
going  to  happcru 

ALMOST  DRUNK  AT  THE  FUNERAL 

"She  led  me  into  the  little  room  and  closed  the  door  upon 
the  three  of  us ;  and  over  the  body  of  our  dead  baby,  lying  in 
the  little  white  casket,  she  made  me  promise  that  I  would  not 
take  another  drop.  I  made  the  promise,  put  my  arms  about 
her,  and  told  her  I'd  never  touch  liquor  again  as  long  as  I 
lived,  and  the  funeral  was  not  over  two  hours  before  I  stag- 
gered home  so  drunk  I  could  not  see.  You  know  I  could  not 
help  that.    The  devil  had  got  hold  of  me. 


276      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

"1  went  away  from  home,  left  my  wife  to  get  along  as  best 
she  could;  and  I  went  clean  down  into  the  gutter.  I  went 
on  down  in  sin  till  I  was  a  hopeless,  homeless  drunkard.  I 
was  so  far  down  that  I  had  to  reach  up  to  touch  bottom;  and 
one  night  I  made  up  my  mind  I  could  not  stand  it  any  longer. 
It  looked  as  if  there  was  no  other  way  for  me  but  to  take  my 
own  life  in  the  lake,  along  what  they  called  the  'Viaduct 
Route,'  where  the  railroad  was  reclaiming  some  land,  and 
where  all  the  suicides  went  over.  Going  down  East  Van 
Buren  Street  I  went  past  a  place;  and  I  heard  them  singing 
inside,  Throw  Out  the  Life-line  Across  the  Dark  Wave.'  I 
stopped  just  a  little,  and  a  man  outside  boosted  me  in.  He 
said,  'Come  on  in.  Fatty ;  just  the  place  for  you,'  and  in  I  went. 

''Well,  bless  your  hearts,  it  proved  to  be  the  old  Pacific 
Garden  Mission.  That's  the  place  in  Chicago  where  an  old 
bum  is  always  welcome,  where  they  will  give  him  just  as  good 
a  seat  as  they  will  when  you've  got  your  Prince  Albert  coat  on, 
and  where  they  will  take  just  as  good  care  of  you  as  any  place 
in  all  the  world.  I  got  a  good  seat,  and  I  heard  them  singing. 
I  went  to  sleep  during  the  preaching,  but  I  woke  up  when  the 
testimonies  started;  and  I  heard  the  most  marvelous  stories 
I  ever  heard  in  my  life.  Why,  men  and  women,  I  tell  you 
that  those  boys  in  there  were  like  these  men  here;  they  had 
found  a  new  joy;  they  had  been  saved  by  the  saving  grace  of 
God,  some  of  them  a  week,  some  two  weeks,  some  six  months, 
some  ten  years,  and  there  they  were  just  filled  with  the  Spirit 
instead  of  filled  with  sin  and  wickedness.  And  Harry  Monroe 
got  up  and  told  how  Jesus  had  come  into  his  life  and  saved  him. 
He  said,  Xisten,  fellows,  God  loves  you,'  and  he  pointed  his 
finger  straight  at  me,  and  God  was  in  the  whole  business. 


The:  Story     M^h,  Trotter* 


277 


"Mr.  Monroe  gave  an  invitation,  and  I  was  the  first  man  to 
raise  my  hand  for  prayer.  I  gripped  my  old  cap  and  started 
down  the  aisle;  and  knocked  over  all  the  chairs  in  my  way. 
Mr.  Monroe  got  off  the  platform  and  helped  me  down  front; 
we  knelt  down  there,  and  he  told  me  to  pray  the  publican's 
prayer.  Well,  I  did  not  know  anything  about  it,  but  just  what 
he  told  me  to  do  I  did.  I  heard  the  story  that  Jesus  loved  me, 
and  that  if  I  confessed  my  sin  he  was  faithful  and  just  to  for- 
give my  sin,  and  to  cleanse  me  from  all  unrighteousness.  The 
verse  he  stood  me  on  that  night  was  'Him  that  cometh  to  me  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out' ;  and  all  of  a  sudden  I  remembered,  so 
many  times  I  had  heard  the  story  of  the  Cross,  how  Jesus 
went  all  the  way  to  Calvary,  and 

"  *None  of  the  ransomed  ever  knew 
How  deep  were  the  waters  crossed,' 

and  I  saw  Jesus,  bearing  his  cross,  men  spitting  at  him  and 
crowning  him  with  thorns,  all  for  my  sin.  I  saw  him  starting 
up  that  awful  steep  hill  with  his  cross,  and  falling  under  it.  I 
got  a  glimpse  of  my  Lord  that  I  have  never  lost  for  an  instant 
from  that  moment  until  this. 

WAS  A  TOBACCO  FIEND.  TOO 
''I  did  not  have  any  money,  and  not  much  more  clothes.  I 
had  a  lovely  overcoat,  though.  It  was  a  bargain.  I  didn't 
stop  to  get  measured  for  it.  I  bought  it  in  a  hurry.  You 
know  I  wanted  to  catch  a  train;  and  I  just  picked  out  the 
biggest  coat  I  could  see ;  a  friend  of  mine  went  back  and  paid 
for  it.  If  you  had  taken  the  overcoat  away  from  me  I  would 
not  have  had  clothes  enough  to  pad  a  crutch.    I  do  not  believe 


278      Twice:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai.e:xandkr 

I  could  have  stopped  a  bread  wagon  on  a  bet  I  was  just  as 
much  a  fiend  for  tobacco  as  I  was  for  whiskey;  and  I  didn't 
have  the  money  to  buy  the  one,  so  I  had  my  right  hand  pocket 
filled  with  Vet  ones/  and  my  left  hand  pocket  filled  with 
'dry  ones/ 

godly  fellow  took  me  to  his  home  that  night;  my  own 
brother  Will.  I  want  to  tell  you  there  were  three  of  us  boys, 
and  all  three  of  us  tended  bar,  for  my  own  father.  My 
father  was  a  drunkard,  and  my  brothers  and  I  were  drunkards. 
But  to-night  brother  George  has  a  lovely  Mission  in  Saginaw, 
Michigan;  brother  Will  has  a  large  Mission  in  Los  Angeles, 
California;  and  I  have  one  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  My 
old  mother  is  not  known  outside  of  the  little  town  she  lives  in 
in  Illinois.  She  is  a  very  quiet  woman ;  if  you  would  ask  her 
to  stand  up  here  she  couldn't  do  it ;  she  has  never  seen  a  crowd 
like  this.  She's  just  a  dear  old  home  body,  but  she  has  seven 
children,  and  every  one  of  them  loves  Jesus. 

''Well  I  cleaned  up  that  night.  I  just  cleaned  those  dirty 
old  things  out  of  my  pockets  and  started  out  right  Will 
stood  and  watched  me,  with  the  tears  streaming  down  his  face ; 
he  knew  if  I  was  ever  going  to  get  anywhere  I  would  have  to 
get  away  from  that.  I  want  to  tell  you  right  now  there  is 
just  one  thing  I  have  never  seen — and  Mrs.  Clark  and  Harry 
Monroe  told  me  they  had  never  seen — I  never  saw  one  man 
who  had  been  saved  from  drinking  and  kept  his  tobacco  that 
did  not  go  back  again.  If  I  had  stuck  to  that  thing,  I  do  not 
believe  I  could  have  been  here  to-night,  standing  before  you ; 
but  God  gave  me  the  Holy  Spirit  in  place  of  it ;  and  I  do  not 
want  it,  and  I  have  been  able  to  go  out  and  tell  the  story 
of  my  salvation. 


The  Story  of  Meiv.  Trotter 


279 


^'The  next  day  I  went  to  work.  My  brother  bought  me  a 
coat,  and  put  me  to  work  at  a  barber  shop ;  and  I  have  never 
cost  a  man  a  dollar  from  that  day  to  this.  We  had  a  compact 
little  room;  it  was  front  parlor,  back  parlor,  kitchen,  pantry, 
bedroom  and  automobile  shed  all  rolled  into  one  room,  and  that 
was  the  best  place  I  had  ever  been  in,  for  Jesus  was  there.  I 
set  up  the  family  altar,  with  a  little  bit  of  a  Testament  that 
cost  two  and  a  half  cents.  And  I  started  to  read.  I  did  not 
know  much  where  to  read,  but  I  said,  'I  will  start  at  the 
beginning;  most  books  start  there  anyhow.'  So  I  started  off 
in  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew;  and  the  names  got  me  up  a 
tree  before  I  got  through  the  second  verse.  I  got  over  into 
tlie  second  chapter,  and  began  to  read  things.  Then  I  would 
get  down  on  my  knees,  and  in  the  best  way  I  knew  how  I 
would  commit  my  way  to  the  Lord;  did  not  have  any  better 
sense  than  just  expect  him  to  lead  me,  and  I  would  just  place 
my  hands  in  his,  and  ask  him  to  keep  us. 

MEMORIZED  SCRIPTURE 

''Presently  I  got  to  reading  the  little  Testament  on  the  car. 
I  was  not  long  on  newspapers.  Well,  you  could  not  ride  on  a 
car  seven  miles  from  town,  and  let  a  lot  of  women  stand  up 
while  you  sat  down  and  read  a  Testament.  Well,  I  tried 
reading  standing  up,  so  I  started  to  get  a  verse  and  to  commit 
it  to  memory  every  day.  The  first  year  after  I  was  saved  I 
had  365  verses  in  my  head,  and,  what  is  better,  in  my  heart. 

"I  made  $4.20  the  first  week  after  Jesus  saved  me ;  and  my 
wife  and  myself  lived  on  it  and  paid  60  cents  car  fares  and  a 
dollar  a  week  rent,  and  never  went  back.  I  tell  you  right 
now  we  have  been  mighty  badly  bent,  but  we  never  went  in 


28o      Twice:  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Alj:xander 

debt  and  God  took  care  of  us.  My  wife  never  complained, 
although  she  came  out  of  a  splendid  home.  She  said,  'I 
would  rather  live  in  one  room  and  have  my  old  man  sober 
than  live  in  a  palace  with  a  drunkard.'  But  I  have  paid  $i,8oo 
worth  of  debts  since  Jesus  saved  me,  and  it  has  been  a  pretty 
hard  grind,  too.  I  have  just  gone  on,  trusting  him  day  by 
day,  and  made  to-day  count  for  God.  I  commit  my  way  unto 
him  every  day  before  I  talk  to  men;  we  just  start  the  day 
together.  I  do  not  know  very  much  about  it,  but  I  know  this, 
that  I  was  a  poor  old  hopeless  drunkard  and  Jesus  saved  me, 
and  he  keeps  me  all  the  way. 

''My  heart  goes  out  to  the  drunkards;  and  I  pity  the  poor 
girl  on  the  streets.  I  pity  her  so  that  we  have  a  home  to  take 
her  to — not  a  Rescue  Home  that  some  one  has  paid  for,  but 
our  own  little  home  in  Grand  Rapids,  and  the  door  is  always 
open  to  poor  girls  that  want  to  live  the  Christian  life.  Some- 
times we  have  no  spare  room,  or  we  do  not  have  the  money, 
but  Mrs.  Trotter  always  says,  'Do  not  turn  one  of  them  away.' 
What  is  the  reason  for  their  being  down  in  that  life  ?  Because 
some  miserable  scoundrel  put  them  there.  For  every  poor 
woman  that  has  gone  down  into  sin  there  is  some  man  as 
black  as  Satan  back  of  it.  In  the  United  States  to-day  there 
are  30,000  women  who  are  really  outcasts.  Their  average 
life  is  five  years,  so  that  6,000  die  every  year,  and  72  daughters 
go  out  of  the  homes  of  the  United  States  every  day  of  the 
year  to  fill  up  their  awful  ranks.  Men,  can  you  look  me  in  the 
face  and  tell  me  that  a  woman  that  goes  down  into  sin  is  any 
worse  than  you  are.  Some  of  these  days  you  men  that  have 
a  lovely  home,  and  a  good  reputation  in  your  neighborhood, 
and  yet  sin  will  meet  judgment. 


The;  Story     Me:l.  Trotti:r 


281 


JUST  "LET  GOD  MOVE  IN" 

"I  went  to  work  to  find  the  old  drunkards ;  and  God  has  been 
giving  me  drunkards  ever  since.  I  have  gone  out  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  depending  upon  him  to  do  it.  We  find 
some  cases  that  will  just  almost  break  our  hearts.  Nearly 
every  scene  that  we  see  in  our  rescue  work  is  a  dark  one ;  we 
get  them  when  everybody  else  has  done  with  them.  But  I 
am  glad  I  am  in  it.  It  is  the  nicest  work  in  the  world ;  there  is 
absolutely  no  worry;  we  just  move  out  and  let  God  move  in. 
And  I  say  to  you  my  work  is  a  pleasure  all  the  way  through ; 
and  if  I  had  a  thousand  lives  I  would  like  to  live  them  all  for 
Him.  By  the  help  and  grace  of  God  I  am  determined  to  use 
the  one  I  have  for  him.  It  is  not  much  I  can  do,  but  I  tell  you 
it  is  a  good  deal  He  can  do. 

"I  have  only  got  one  text,  and  that  is,  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  God's  Son,  can  cleanse  from  all  sin,  and  that  takes  in 
everything.  I  have  just  one  remedy.  I  do  not  have  to  do  like 
physicians  do;  go  in  and  diagnose  a  case.  I  know  that  sin 
will  cover  it  every  time,  and  I  know  that  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  When  they  begin  to  tell  me 
their  story  I  say,  'You  just  wait  for  my  story  before  you  begin 
to  tell  me;  hold  on  just  a  minute;  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
God's  Son,  will  cleanse  you  from  all  your  sin,  and  everything 
else  will  take  care  of  itself.'  'And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me.'  " 


XXI 

VICTORY  IN  ATLANTA 

During  the  month  of  May,  1906,  Atlanta  was  stirred  as 
rarely  before  in  its  history  by  the  revival  campaign  of  Dr. 
Torrey  and  Mr.  Alexander.  Many  of  the  marks  of  the  old- 
time  revival  appeared  in  the  meetings.  Not  a  few  were  so 
deeply  convicted  of  sin  that  they  were  in  agony  of  mind  and 
body.  One  drunkard,  after  having  passed  the  hall,  declared 
that  he  felt  an  invisible  but  irresistible  force  gripping  him  and 
compelling  him  to  return ;  and  he  was  so  smitten  with  convic- 
tion that  he  threw  his  full  whiskey  bottle  into  the  sewer  and 
went  back  to  the  hall,  where  he  accepted  Christ.  He  then 
returned  to  his  former  employment. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  work  was  the  return  of  stolen 
money  and  the  wide-spread  payment  of  old  debts  throughout 
the  city.  In  a  single  congregation  one  pastor  declared  that 
he  knew  of  seven  young  men  who  were  so  convicted  that  they 
began  to  pay  up  old  obligations. 

Hundreds  of  Christian  people  in  Atlanta  Avere  fired  with  a 
Pentecostal  passion  for  soul-winning.  They  were  so  aroused 
that  they  led  people  to  Christ  in  the  street  cars,  in  office  build- 
ings, on  the  street — everywhere. 

PRAISE  MEETING  ON  SIDEWALK 

One  evening  while  the  campaign  was  in  progress  a  man  told 
me  how  a  drunkard  who  had  been  on  the  point  of  commiting 


MR.  ALEXANDER  AND  MR.  CHARLES  COOKE,  THE  IROQUOIS  INDIAN 


Victory  in  Ati^anta 


285 


suicide  accepted  Christ  at  noon  on  a  down-town  street  and 
instantly  became  so  happy  that  tliey  had  a  praise  and  hallelujah 
meeting  right  there  on  the  sidewalk.  The  same  man  told  how 
he  went  into  two  offices,  and  the  business  men  who  occupied 
them  knelt  down  and  accepted  Christ 

One  day  Mr.  Alexander  went  into  a  dentist's  parlor;  and  as 
the  result  of  his  personal  work  the  dentist  knelt  and  took 
Christ.    The  singing  evangelist  said : 

"I  went  to  have  my  teeth  fixed  a  little  this  afternoon,  and  as 
I  got  through  I  put  my  arms  around  the  dentist,  and  I  said, 
'You  are  a  good  dentist ;  won't  you  come  to  Christ  ?'  He  said, 
'I  have  been  wanting  somebody  to  come  here  and  speak  to 
me  ever  since  the  meetings  began.'  They  are  hungry  all  over 
town.  A  friend  and  I  talked  with  him  a  little  while,  got  him 
down  on  his  knees,  and  he  sobbed  like  a  child.  I  had  to  leave 
and  go  to  the  afternoon  meeting,  but  I  left  the  other  two 
together.  As  I  went  out  of  the  door  the  dentist  called  out 
after  me,  though  he  was  on  his  knees,  'Ask  the  people  to  pray 
for  me.'  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  my  friend,  saying  that 
the  dentist  was  converted  there  on  his  knees  this  afternoon." 

The  meetings  in  Atlanta  were  held  in  a  large  Skating  Rink, 
which  was  remodeled  to  accommodate  4,400  people.  The 
campaign  was  supported  by  the  most  prominent  business  men 
of  the  city,  including  two  millionaires,  and  a  man  who  is  at  the 
head  of  about  73  country  banks.  The  head  of  the  Business 
Men's  Committee  was  ex-Governor  W.  J.  Northen, 

SAM  SMALL  CAME  BACK 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  event  of  the  entire  movement  was 
the  return  of  Rev.  Sam.  Small  to  God  after  five  years  of  back- 


286      Twice:  Around  the  Worm  With  Ai^exander 

sliding.  As  my  readers  doubtless  know,  Mr.  Small  was  one 
of  the  foremost  evangelists  of  the  country;  but  some  years 
ago  he  drifted  away  from  God,  and  had  been  living  in  Atlanta 
as  a  blackslider,  writing  for  a  local  newspaper.  One  night  he 
was  sitting  on  the  platform  at  the  Skating  Ring  while  Dr. 
Torrey  preached  on  The  Judgment  Day.  As  he  concluded  his 
sermon  and  appealed  for  converts  very  few  responded.  Just 
as  he  was  about  to  end  the  appeal  a  thrill  ran  over  the  audience 
as  Sam.  Small  stood  up  at  a  reporters'  table,  and  in  a  broken 
voice  said: 

''Dr.  Torrey,  I  once  accepted  Christ  and  knew  the  full  joy 
of  salvation,  but  I  have  drifted  away  and  God  knows  I  need  to 
repent,  and  God  helping  me  I  do  now  and  here  repent  and  sur- 
render my  life  to  him.''  As  he  finished  his  confession  Mr. 
Small  sat  down,  buried  his  head  upon  the  table  in  front  of  him. 

Not  only  the  audience,  but  the  evangelists  themselves  were 
deeply  moved  by  the  occurrence;  and  Dr.  Torrey  called  on 
Mr.  Alexander  to  pray.  The  singing  evangelist  offered  a  fer- 
vent prayer,  saying:  ''Our  Father,  when  we  were  boys  we 
heard  of  Sam  Small;  and  it  encouraged  our  hearts  when  we 
saw  what  Jesus  could  do  through  him  for  men  who  were  away 
down  in  sin.  We  do  thank  thee  for  the  privilege  of  praying 
for  him  to-night ;  and  we  ask  that  thou  wilt  do  such  a  work  in 
his  heart  as  shall  last  through  all  eternity." 

Mr.  Small's  return  to  the  fold  created  a  deep  impression 
throughout  Atlanta  and  aroused  widespread  interest  through- 
out the  country.  Within  a  few  days  after  his  confession  Mr. 
Small  received  more  than  lOO  letters  of  congratulation  and 
encouragement,  and  among  them  invitations  to  begin  revival 
meetings  in  two  Northern  cities. 


Victory  in  Ati^anta 


287 


The  next  day  at  a  meeting  for  business  men  conducted  by  the 
evangeHst,  Mr.  Small  melted  down  the  meeting  by  declaring 
that  for  years  he  had  walked  the  streets  of  Atlanta,  and  not  a 
soul  had  spoken  to  him  about  his  salvation.    He  said : 

"I  have  gone  up  and  down  the  streets  of  Atlanta  for  the  five 
years  I  have  been  away  from  God,  with  a  hungry  heart,  and 
wished  for  some  Chriatian  to  speak  to  me;  but  never  has  a 
Christian  man  spoken  to  me  in  all  these  years,  and  I  felt  a  bit- 
terness in  my  heart  toward  all  Christian  people.  But  as  I 
listened  to  Dr.  Torrey,  I  saw  that  my  responsibility  could  not 
be  shifted  on  to  God,  and  I  repented  and  came  back  to  God 
a  new  man." 

He  had  scarcely  finished  speaking  when  a  man  in  the 
audience  said:  *1  prayed  for  brother  Small,  and  wanted  to 
speak  to  him,  but  I  felt  that  I  was  below  him  intellectually, 
and  would  not  make  any  impression  on  him.  I  ask  God  to  for- 
give me  for  not  speaking  to  him." 

Another  got  up  and  said:  *'I  prayed  for  Brother  Sam  for 
years.  I  have  his  picture  on  the  wall  of  my  home,  and  I 
prayed  for  him  every  time  I  looked  at  it.  I  was  on  the  eve  of 
speaking  to  him  several  times,  and  hope  God  will  forgive  me 
for  not  doing  so." 

RESUMED  PREACHING 

Sunday  Mr.  Small  preached  his  first  sermon  since  his  return 
to  the  fold  in  his  old  church  here  in  Atlanta ;  and  as  a  result 
two  persons  stood  up  to  accept  Christ.  In  the  course  of  his 
sermon  Mr.  Small  told  how  he  had  been  drawn  by  the  spirit  of 
God  and  had  been  led  to  make  a  full  surrender. 

''Dear  friends,"  he  said,  ''if  I  could  tell  you  the  emotion  that 
surges  through  my  heart  as  I  stand  in  this  pulpit  this  morning 


288      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

you  would  rejoice  with  me;  but  it  is  sufficient  for  you  to  know 
that  I  have  come  back  again  into  the  fold.  I  feel  like  a 
deserter  who  has  been  pardoned  by  his  chief.  I  have  been  a 
member  of  this  church  for  a  long  time,  and  I  want  to  begin 
all  over  again  at  home,  for  this  is  my  church  home. 

''I  cannot  tell  you  how  it  came  about,  but  I  remember  I  was 
going  to  a  lodge  meeting  to  take  part  in  an  initiation,  with 
never  a  thought  of  going  to  the  Torrey- Alexander  meeting  in 
my  mind.  I  was  riding  down  town  on  the  car,  and  as  it  passed 
the  hall  something  seemed  to  say  to  me,  'Go  to  the  Torrcy- 
Alexander  meeting.'  So  I  left  the  car,  went  in  through  one  of 
the  side  entrances  to  the  rink,  and  took  a  seat  up  front.  As  I 
sat  there  and  heard  Dr.  Torrey  calling  on  those  who  had  gone 
away  from  God  to  come  back,  something  seemed  to  say  to  me, 
'Why  don't  you  stand?  Why  don't  you  stand?  Why  don't 
you  stand?'  I  kept  putting  it  off,  but  at  last  an  overwhelming 
impulse  came  over  me  to  stand;  and  I  did  stand,  and  by  the 
grace  of  God  I  intend  to  stand  the  balance  of  my  life. 

"Oh,  the  joy  that  came  into  my  heart,  friends,  when  I  rose 
and  confessed  that  I  had  not  been  leading  the  life  that  I 
ought  to  and  had  gotten  away  from  God.  I  can  never  fully 
explain  the  joy  and  peace  that  came  into  my  life." 

A  ''Revival  Luncheon"  was  held  in  Atlanta  which  was 
attended  by  many  leading  business  men.  They  told  how  deeply 
the  city  had  been  stirred  by  the  movement  and  how  they  had 
been  led  to  do  personal  work  as  never  before.  One  well 
known  business  man,  who  had  formerly  run  for  mayor  and  had 
been  backed  by  the  whiskey  element,  arose  at  the  table  and  told 
with  tears  and  sobs  how  he  had  accepted  Christ  the  night 
before.    He  said : 


Victory  in  Ati^anta 


'1  am  39  years  of  age,  and  have  been  a  great  sinner  all 
my  life.  I  had  often  thought  about  the  matter  of  religion,  and 
it  prayed  upon  my  mind,  but  I  would  dodge  everything  that 
pertained  to  Christianity.  My  wife  would  ask  me  to  go  to 
Sunday  School  or  church  with  her,  but  I  would  always  have  an 
excuse.  I  went  home  the  other  evening,  and  went  into  the 
room  where  she  sat.  She  had  been  to  hear  Dr.  Torrey.  She 
said,  'I  want  you  to  be  a  better  man.'  I  said,  'Well,  I  want  to 
be.'  She  said,  'I  am  going  to  pray  for  you  right  now';  and 
right  then  and  there  she  knelt  and  prayed  for  me.  It  melted 
me ;  I  couldn't  stand  it. 

''First  thing  this  morning  I  wrote  off  to  my  mother — she 
is  79  years  of  age — to  tell  her  what  I  have  done ;  and  I  would 
like  to  see  her  face  when  she  gets  that  letter.  I  want  you  all 
to  pray  for  me ;  and  I  want  to  work  for  God  and  make  good 
for  the  time  I  have  lost." 

"OUT  OF  THE  MOUTHS  OF  BABES" 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  the  revival  was  the 
way  in  which  the  boys  and  the  girls  were  fired  with  enthusiasm 
to  get  their  companions  converted.  In  one  neighborhood  six- 
teen boys  have  been  converted,  all  as  the  result  of  a  lady  who 
accepted  Christ  on  the  first  night  of  the  meeting.  The  boys 
were  so  eager  to  have  their  companions  saved  that  they  held 
a  prayer-meeting  almost  every  night  before  they  went  up  to  the 
meetings  at  the  auditorium.  Ex-Governor  Northen,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  leader  of  the  boys,  said : 

''One  of  the  boys  here  has  been  coming  up  to  me  for  several 
nights  with  another  boy,  and  saying  'Governor,  let  me  intro- 
duce you  to  this  boy;  he  has  accepted  Christ  to-night.'  Last 


290     Twic^  Around  the  Wori,d  With  Ai.e:xander 

night  he  came  up  to  me,  leading  another  boy  as  usual,  and  said, 
'Governor,  this  is  only  half  my  boy;  another  boy  helped  me 
lead  him  to  Christ/  And  when  I  went  out  last  night  when 
almost  everybody  else  had  left  the  building  and  the  lights  were 
turned  down,  I  saw  seven  little  fellows  down  on  their  knees 
praying  to  God  to  give  them  more  boys." 

When  the  revival  began  Atlanta  was  honey-combed  with 
card-playing  and  dancing  Christians.  Large  numbers  of  these 
were  led  to  give  up  these  worldly  practices  and  surrender 
themselves  to  God  for  soul-winning.  One  lady  who  had 
bought  a  new  set  of  whist-boards  took  them  back,  and 
exchanged  them  for  handsome  little  Bibles. 

During  the  campaign,  the  revival  fire  broke  out  in  curious 
and  unexpected  places.  For  two  weeks  two  young  men  held 
noon-day  revival  meetings  in  the  engineer's  room  in  the  base- 
ment of  a  big  office  building.  Their  little  audience  was  com- 
posed of  the  engineer  of  the  building,  the  elevator  boy,  and 
some  painters  and  machinists;  but  the  young  men  preached 
the  Gospel  with  all  the  fervor  of  trained  evangelists.  As  the 
outcome  of  their  endeavor,  three  painters,  a  machinist  and  the 
elevator  boy  accepted  Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

Before  the  revival  closed  Mr.  Small's  power  as  an  evangelist 
seemed  to  come  back  to  him  once  more.  On  the  last  Sunday 
of  the  campaign  he  addressed  a  large  gathering  of  men,  tell- 
ing them  how  he  had  served  the  devil  for  five  years,  but  was 
determined  to  serve  God  for  the  rest  of  his  life  and  fight  the 
devil  till  his  last  breath.  As  he  spoke  with  thrilling  eloquence, 
tears  rolled  down  the  faces  of  hundreds  of  strong  men.  At 
the  end  of  his  sermon  some  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  young  and 
old,  went  forward  and  grasped  the  evangelist's  hand,  and 


Victory  in  Ati^anta 


291 


declared  that  they  would  surrender  their  lives  to  God.  Mr. 
Small  said  he  had  received  invitations  from  many  Northern 
cities  to  come  there  and  conduct  revival  meetings,  but  that 
since  he  had  served  the  devil  in  Atlanta  he  wanted  to  stay 
there  for  a  time  and  endeavor  to  lead  back  to  God  some  of  the 
men  he  led  astray. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  last  service  in  Atlanta,  a  beautiful 
scene  occurred,  when  a  considerable  part  of  the  audience,  under 
the  leadership  of  ex-Gov.  Northern,  marched  to  the  Majestic 
Hotel,  where  the  evangelists  were  staying,  and  iheld  an 
impromptu  meeting,  during  which  the  choir  and  others  sere- 
naded them  with  the  ''Glory  Song"  and  other  revival  hymns. 

A  VISIT  TO  SAM  JONES 

It  was  during  the  stay  of  the  evangelists  at  Atlanta,  that  Mr. 
Alexander  paid  a  memorable  visit  to  Sam.  P.  Jones,  the  great 
evangelist  and  lecturer,  at  his  home  in  Cartersville,  Georgia. 
Mr.  Jones  had  been  an  interested  visitor  at  the  Atlanta  meet- 
ings, and  had  cordially  urged  the  singing  evangelist  to  spend 
a  day  with  him.  Mr.  Alexander  gladly  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, for  he  had  long  been  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  wise  say- 
ings and  unique  methods  of  the  man. 

Early  one  Saturday  morning  Mr.  Alexander  left  Atlanta, 
accompanied  by  his  brother,  Robert  Harkness,  Charles  Butler, 
Evangelist  Ira  Evans  Hicks  and  the  writer.  We  were  most 
cordially  entertained  by  Mr.  Jones  and  his  family;  and  Mr. 
Alexander  declared  that  it  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  days 
he  had  ever  spent.  Following  the  death  of  Mr.  Jones,  Mr. 
Alexander  wrote  an  appreciative  article  for  the  "Record  of 
Christian, Work,"  jn  which  he  said: 


292      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

''We  went  up  to  Cartersville,  and  what  a  day  it  was !  About 
such  a  day  as  I  remember  having  with  Mr.  Moody  when  he 
was  in  Atlanta  during  the  Cotton  Exposition.  I  beheve  great 
men  would  spend  more  time  with  small  men,  if  they  knew  what 
a  help  a  few  hours'  conversation  would  be  to  their  lives. 

''When  wx  reached  his  home  we  were  made  to  feel  at  home, 
immediately.  After  getting  acquainted  with  the  members  of 
his  family,  we  went  for  a  drive  about  the  town;  and  then 
new  beauties  of  his  character  began  to  shine  out  as  he  talked 
about  his  love  for  the  people  and  how  interested  he  was  in 
their  welfare.  He  showed  us  a  big  tabernacle  he  had  built  on  a 
hill,  which  had  been  bought  and  given  for  the  purpose  by  the 
town.  He  made  it  a  point  for  years  to  hold  at  least  ten  days 
meetings  in  his  home  town  annually. 

"I  plied  him  with  questions  constantly,  for  there  were  many 
that  I  had  longed  to  ask  him  for  years.  He  said  when  he 
first  came  to  that  town,  with  his  family,  there  were  twelve 
saloons  there.  He  stated  before  an  audience  soon  after  com- 
ing, that  even  one  saloon  in  that  town  was  too  many  for  his 
boy,  and  that  they  had  to  go.  He  kept  preaching,  praying, 
getting  other  people  to  pray,  and  working  until  they  ran  them 
out.  They  threatened  to  kill  him,  and  did  dynamite  his  barn. 
I  asked  him  if  a  saloon  could  be  legally  brought  into  the  town. 
He  said  'Yes,'  he  supposed  it  might,  but  with  a  very  earnest 
glance  up  into  my  eye  he  said,  'We  have  given  them  warning 
that  if  they  won't  go  head  first,  they  will  have  to  go  feet  first.' 
I  asked  him  how  it  was,  and  he  said,  'We  just  keep  the  spiritual 
atmosphere  of  the  town  at  such  a  temperature  that  the  liquor 
seller  cannot  live  here.' 

"After  the  mid-day  meal  we  sat  oh  his  broad  veranda.  He 


Victory  in  Atlanta 


293 


was  in  a  rocking-chair,  with  his  Httle  grand-child  on  his  knee, 
ve,  all  as  close  to  him  as  we  could  get,  asking  him  questions. 
And  what  answers  he  gave  to  us!  I  wish  I  could  recall  all 
of  them.  Among  other  things  he  said  this,  *You  cannot  say  it 
with  your  tongue  if  you  haven't  got  it  in  your  head/  Another 
striking  sentence  was:  'The  men  who  leave  their  mark,  on 
this  world,  are  the  men  who  have  convictions.  The  men  who 
have  mere  opinions  slip  through  without  leaving  a  trace.' 

*'The  love  and  respect  shown  to  him  by  each  member  of  his 
famliy,  and  those  who  were  his  servants,  was  a  proof  of  his 
home  Christianity,  which  he  had  preached  so  constantly.  I 
asked  one  kindly-faced  colored  woman  how  long  she  had  been 
with  them.  'Twenty  years,  sir.'  'And  how  do  you  like  to  live 
with  them  ?'    'I  could  not  live  without  them,'  was  her  reply. 

"I  watched  Mr.  Jones  as  he  walked  about  on  the  lawn,  talk- 
ing to  us.  I  thought  then  he  seemed  very  feeble,  although  his 
eye  was  clear  and  steady  and  his  voice  resonant  and  full.  We 
all  went  back  to  Atlanta,  repeating  his  sayings  to  one  another, 
and  each  with  a  stronger  determination  to  be  better  and  truer 
men." 


XXII 


CONVERSION  OF  A  FAMOUS  PUGILIST 

The  final  Mission  of  the  year  before  the  summer  rest  period 
was  held  in  Ottawa,  Canada,  in  June,  1906.  The  move- 
ment resulted  in  a  spiritual  awakening  scarcely  less  wide- 
spread in  its  influence  than  that  of  Toronto  a  few  months 
previous.  Not  only  the  city,  but  the  province  was  stirred  by 
the  revival.  Ottawa  being  the  capital  of  Canada,  the  effect  of 
the  Mission  was  felt  throughout  the  nation.  The  names  of 
about  1,500  converts  were  recorded,  while  hundreds  of  others 
were  saved  whose  names  were  not  recorded.  The  converts 
were  from  all  classes  and  ranks,  and  included  a  lady  of  title, 
street  railway  men,  and  a  well  known  pugilist  and  ex-saloon- 
keeper whose  conversion  thrilled  the  entire  city. 

The  meetings  in  Ottawa  were  held  in  Dey's  Rink,  a  big 
structure  generally  used  for  hockey  matches  or  as  a  skating 
rink.  In  appearance  it  closely  resembled  the  Drill  Hall  used 
by  the  evangelists  in  Plymouth,  England,  It  was  remodeled 
and  fitted  with  seats  to  accommodate  6,000  persons,  but  on 
more  than  one  occasion  it  was  packed  to  the  doors  with 
hundreds  unable  to  obtain  admission.  This  was  the  more 
remarkable  since  the  population  of  the  city  was  only  60,000, 
with  about  one-half  Roman  Catholics.  Among  those  present 
at  the  opening  meeting  were  several  from  the  Government 
House,  Including  Lady  Sybil  Grey,  daughter  of  Earl  Grey, 
Governor-General  of  Canada. 


Conversion  ojp  a  Famous  Pugiust  295 


A  **SUNBEAM  CHOIR'* 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  events  of  the  Mission  was  the 
presence  one  evening  of  a  ''Sunbeam  Choir"  of  500  boys  and 
girls.  Mr.  Alexander  said  it  was  the  largest  ''Sunbeam 
Chorus''  he  had  ever  had.  The  boys  and  girls  were  arranged 
on  the  rising  seats  at  the  side  of  the  building,  near  the  front, 
and  presented  a  beautiful  appearance.  At  one  end  of  the 
throng  of  children  were  100  boys  with  bright  faces  and  shining 
eyes.  Next  to  them  were  400  little  girls  with  equally  radiant 
faces  and  sparkling  eyes.  In  their  costumes  were  all  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow.  When,  in  response  to  Mr.  Alexander's 
signal,  their  clear  childish  voices  floated  out  through  the 
arena  many  hundreds  of  hearts  were  touched  and  melted. 
Their  favorite  song  was  the  "Sunbeam  Song";  and  it  was 
thrilling  to  hear  their  clear,  happy  voices  singing  in  unison : 

*'ril  be  a  sunbeam  for  him." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon  by  Dr.  Torrey,  when  the 
invitation  was  given,  about  100  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  the 
choir  stood  up  publicly  to  accept  Christ,  and  went  down  to  the 
front  seats  where  the  Way  of  Life  was  clearly  explained  to 
them,  as  well  as  to  the  older  converts. 

Like  Toronto,  Ottawa  is  one  of  the  most  God-fearing  cities 
in  the  Dominion.  The  Sabbath  is  observed  here  with  a  strict- 
ness far  surpassing  anything  seen  in  the  States.  By  law  no 
Sunday  newspapers  are  allowed  in  the  Dominion.  A  striking 
illustration  of  the  prevalence  of  family  religion  was  seen  one 
afternoon,  when  Mr.  Alexander  asked  all  in  the  audience  who 
had  family  prayers  to  raise  their  hands.  Almost  every  hand 
in  the  audience  was  uplifted;  and  the  Gospel  singer  declared 


296     Twic^  Around  tnn  W0R1.D  With  Ai^^xandkr 

it  was  the  largest  proportion  he  had  seen  in  their  tour  of  the 
World. 

SPECIAL  TRAINS  WERE  RUN 

A  unique  feature  of  the  work  in  Ottawa  was  the  running 
of  special  trains  throughout  the  campaign.  The  first  was  a 
special  train  from  Pembroke,  Ontario,  100  miles  away. 
Another  carried  a  party  of  100  Christian  Endeavorers  and  choir 
members  who  came  from  Toronto,  300  miles  distant.  A  pleas- 
ant incident  of  that  excursion  was  the  spending  of  several 
days  in  Ottawa  by  some  who  were  entertained  by  the  Christian 
Endeavorers  of  the  city. 

The  third  Sunday  of  the  Ottawa  campaign  was  the  red- 
letter  day  of  the  revival.  At  the  afternoon  and  evening  ser- 
vices not  less  than  14,000  people  were  in  attendance,  and  over 
300  converts  were  recorded.  The  afternoon  meeting  was  for 
boys  and  girls;  and  was  the  largest  gathering  the  evangelists 
had  in  America.  Nearly  8,000  people,  young  and  old,  were 
present,  the  great  structure  being  closely  packed,  with  hun- 
dreds standing  and  sitting  upon  the  steps  leading  to  the  choir 
platform.  The  musical  part  of  the  service  was  especially 
inspiring,  Mr.  Alexander  having  under  his  direction  three 
choirs —  the  regular  Ottowa  choir,  the  ^'Sunbeam  Choir''  and 
nearly  100  members  of  his  former  Toronto  choir. 

The  man  who  trained  the  two  choirs  in  Ottawa — the  regular 
choir,  and  the  ''Sunbeam  Chorus'' — was  one  of  the  interesting 
figures  of  the  work  there.  His  name  was  Charles  H.  Cooke, 
but  he  was  a  full-blooded  Iroquois  Indian.  He  was  from  a  re^ 
man's  settlement  in  the  north  of  Canada,  where  his  father 
was  an  Indian  missionary.  For  several  years  he  had  lived  in 
Ottawa,  where  he  became  director  of  a  choir  in  a  Presbyterian 


Conv£:rsion  of  a  Famous  Pugilist  297 


Church,  Mr.  Cooke  is  not  only  an  expert  musician,  but  a 
man  of  executive  ability,  having  handled  the  choir  arrange- 
ments in  an  admirable  manner.  When  I  asked  him  to  tell  me 
something  of  his  early  life,  he  said : 

AN  INDIAN'S  CHRISTIAN  STORY 
"I  was  born  in  1870  down  the  Ottawa  River,  at  Oka,  which 
is  an  Algonquin  Indian  word  meaning  Tickerel.'  My  people 
were  all  Roman  Catholics,  but  just  about  the  time  I  was  born 
a  general  conversion  of  nearly  all  the  Indians  in  the  reserva- 
tion occurred.  They  turned  Protestants  and  became  Metho- 
dists. It  came  about  through  one  of  the  priests  who  had  been 
educated  for  the  priesthood  finding  a  Bible.  He  kept  studying 
it  in  secret ;  and  found  it  taught  something  very  different  from 
what  he  had  learned.  He  left  the  church,  and  persuaded  his 
friends  to  renounce  Roman  Catholicism  and  follow  the  teacli- 
ings  of  the  Book, 

Then  a  persecution  came,  and  the  Indians  had  to  leave  and 
go  to  Muskoka,  Northern  Ontario.  At  about  16  years  of  age, 
I  was  converted  through  the  preaching  of  my  father,  a  native 
missionary  to  the  Indians.  I  remember  that  he  would  urge 
me,  being  his  only  son,  to  become  a  Christian  that  he  might 
better  urge  other  young  men  to  become  Christians.  The 
result  was  that  I  was  never  happy  until  I  gave  my  heart  to 
Christ.  Later  I  went  to  college,  and  became  interested  in 
music.  While  there  I  was  leader  of  the  Glee  Club.  I  came  to 
Ottawa  in  1893,  entered  a  church  choir,  and  now  I  am  director 
of  the  choir  at  the  Stewarton  Presbyterian  Church." 

A  number  of  visitors  came  from  long  distances  to  attend  the 
meetings.    One  of  these  was  Mr.  H.  Wellington  Wood,  of 


298      Twic^  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Ai.]^xander 

Philadelphia,  who  gave  up  a  pleasure  trip  to  the  seashore  or 
mountains  during  his  vacation,  in  order  to  get  more  fire  and 
win  more  souls  in  the  revival  meetings.  Another  visitor  was 
Benjamin  M.  Brown,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Mr.  Brown  was  a 
special  insurance  agent,  making  $5,000  a  year,  but  he  gave  up 
three  weeks'  time  to  take  part  in  the  meetings  and  help  win 
the  business  men  of  Ottawa  to  Christ.  He  is  an  enthusiastic 
personal  worker.  He  believes  it  should  be  done  with  the  per- 
sistency and  business  sagacity  of  an  insurance  agent.  Mr. 
Brown  is  now  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  in  Chicago;  and  he  still  makes  personal 
soul-winning  the  chief  business  of  his  life;  but,  strangely 
enough,  the  man  he  helped  most  was  a  man  far  remote  from 
the  business  world. 

PUGILIST  ALLEN  SUCCUMBS 

This  brings  me  to  the  story  of  the  most  interesting  and 
remarkable  convert  of  the  Ottawa  campaign,  Mr.  Alf.  Allen, 
the  champion  middleweight  pugilist  of  Canada.  One  night 
he  was  wandering  in  a  drunken  condition  through  the  streets 
of  Ottawa.  He  had  been  on  a  spree  for  two  months.  Seeing 
people  entering  Dey's  Rink,  he  accompanied  them,  led  by  God's 
Spirit.  That  night,  drunk  as  he  was,  he  found  Christ ;  and  he 
has  been  a  saved  and  sober  man  ever  since.  The  story  of  his 
conversion  and  transformation  reads  like  a  chapter  from  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

As  Alf.  Allen  sat  in  the  meeting  that  night,  the  sermon  and 
the  songs  stirred  his  soul  so  that  he  had  a  longing  com- 
pletely to  change  his  mode  of  living.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
service  a  worker  led  him  down  to  the  front,  where,  in  God's 


Conve:rsion  of  a  Famous  PugiIvIST  299 

mysterious  Providence,  he  was  successively  dealt  with  by  three 
of  the  best  personal  workers  in  the  Mission.  First,  Mr. 
Jacoby  talked  and  prayed  with  him  like  a  brother.  Then  he 
fell  into  the  hands  of  H.  Wellington  Wood,  who,  with  his 
usual  energy,  drove  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  into  the  heart  of 
the  pugilist.  As  there  were  no  meetings  on  the  following  day 
Mr.  Allen  did  not  leave  his  bed,  lest  if  he  should  go  outside  he 
would  be  too  strongly  tempted  to  drink.  On  the  following 
day,  which  was  Sunday,  he  strolled  out  into  the  park  before 
going  to  the  Rink,  and  there  met  Benjamin  M.  Brown,  a  Cleve- 
land soul- winner.  With  him  he  went  to  the  meeting;  and, 
after  a  stirring  sermon  by  Dr.  Torrey  on  ''Heroes  and 
Cowards,"  he  went  forward  and  publicly  confessed  Christ.  As 
was  the  case  with  Sam  Small  in  Atlanta,  a  thrill  ran  through 
the  audience,  as  it  was  whispered  about  that  Alf.  Allen,  the 
champion  pugilist,  was  at  the  front.  At  the  end  of  the  meet- 
ing a  large  number  of  the  choir  gathered  around  the  pugilist ; 
and,  as  one  after  another  grasped  his  hand,  they  sang  again 
and  again  the  chorus  of  the  popular  revival  melody  "Grace 
Enough  for  Me.'' 

The  next  day  when  I  talked  with  Mr.  Allen,  he  declared 
he  was  through  with  prize  fighting,  and  that  he  had  never  been 
so  happy  before  in  his  life.  When  asked  about  his  past  career, 
he  said: 

HIS  WRETCHED  PAST 

"I  had  never  been  in  church  but  twice  in  my  life ;  once  when  I 
was  a  boy,  and  once  when  I  was  married.  I  left  home  when 
a  boy  of  14,  and  went  out  to  the  Flathead  Reservation  in 
Montana,  living  with  the  wild  people  there  for  quite  a  few 
years.    I  came  back,  and  have  been  here  something  like  15 


300      twicE  Around  the  WorIvD  With  Alexander 

years.  I  was  in  the  saloon  business  four  years.  I  have  been 
drinking  all  my  life,  and  living  the  hardest,  wickedest  life  I 
knew  how.    I  was  drunk  almost  all  the  time. 

^'I  made  $20,000  fighting  and  running  the  saloon,  and  lost 
it  in  four  years.  About  three  years  ago  I  lost  my  saloon.  I 
was  drunk  for  two  years.  I  went  home,  and  they  tried  to  keep 
me  straight;  but  I  began  to  see  green  ribbons  and  snakes  and 
hear  dogs  barking,  and  they  couldn't  do  anything  with  me. 
Finally  they  sent  me  to  the  Central  Prison,  where  I  served  six 
months,  and  came  out  last  January. 

*'In  April  I  fought  Jack  Monroe — the  Butte  miner — at  Hull 
for  eight  rounds.  Then  I  went  down  to  Maine  where  I  made 
over  $200,  and  blew  it  in  in  a  week's  spree  at  Montreal.  I 
came  back  to  Ottawa,  and  in  some  way  wandered  into  Dey's 
Rink  last  Friday  night,  after  having  been  drunk  for  two 
months. 

don't  remember  anything  about  the  sermon.  I  remember 
that  some  one  took  me  up  front,  and  I  promised  to  come  again 
on  Sunday  night.  To  keep  from  drinking  on  Saturday  I 
stayed  in  bed  all  day  at  my  hotel. 

''Now  my  old  life  seems  away  off;  I  don't  want  to  think 
of  it.  I  don't  want  to  go  near  a  saloon  again,  and  I'll  never 
put  another  glove  on.  I  have  no  inclination  for  them.  I  never 
in  all  my  life  put  in  such  a  day  as  to-day.  Yesterday  was  the 
happiest  day  of  my  life;  but  to-day  is  even  happier  than 
yesterday." 

Following  Mr.  Allen's  stand  for  Qirist  Mr.  Brown  went 
about  with  him  day  and  night,  building  him  up  in  the  faith,  and 
encouraging  him  to  begin  witnessing  for  Christ.  Before  the 
campaign  closed  the  evangelists  suggested  to  Mr.  Allen  that 


Conv£:rsion  of  a  Famous  PugiIvIST  301 


he  go  to  the  Moody  Bible  Institute.  He  eagerly  welcomed  the 
plan,  saying  that  now  his  one  object  in  life  was  to  win  others 
to  the  Saviour  he  had  found.  Through  the  assistance  of  sev- 
eral Christian  friends  and  others,  Mr.  Allen  went  to  Cleve- 
land with  Mr.  Brown,  where  he  gave  a  stirring  testimony  in 
the  open  air,  and  then  Mr.  Brown  accompanied  him  to  Chicago, 
where  he  never  rested  until  he  saw  Allen  installed  in  the  Insti- 
tute. And  it  all  occurred  within  three  weeks  after  the  pugi- 
list's conversion  at  the  conclusion  of  a  two  months'  spre^* 
Many  times  I  have  heard  Mr.  Allen  refer  to  that  rapid  meta- 
morphosis from  one  life  to  another,  and  declare  that  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord  in  being  so  gracious  to  him  after  he  had 
treated  Him  so  shamefully  was  past  understanding.  It  melted 
down  his  heart  to  think  of  it. 

At  the  Bible  Institute  Mr.  Allen  made  excellent  progress. 
At  that  time  Mr.  Alexander's  brother,  Homer  Alexander,  and 
another  gentleman  were  conducting  services  at  various  Chicago 
churches,  and  frequently  took  Mr.  AJIen  with  them  to  give  his 
testimony.  It  never  failed  to  move  the  hearts  of  the 
audience. 

When  I  visited  the  Institute  I  found  Mr.  Allen's  face  radiant 
with  the  love  of  Christ.  The  Devil  strongly  tempted  him  in 
Chicago,  but  he  conquered  through  Christ.  On  one  occasion 
he  was  sadly  in  need  of  funds  when  some  sporting  men  offered 
him  hundreds  of  dollars  if  he  would  only  fight  one  battle  and 
that  under  an  assumed  name.  But  the  tempter  was  van- 
quished; and  day  by  day  Mr.  Allen  grew  in  grace  and  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  as  he  spent  hours  studying  God's  Word 
and  daily  doing  soul- winning.  Once  Mr.  Allen  grasped  my 
hand  warmly,  and  declared  that  for  several  days  in  succession 


302      Twice;  Around  the;  World  With  Ai.e:xander 

he  had  had  the  unspeakable  joy  of  leading  one  soul  daily  into  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth. 

It  is  now  over  a  year  since  Mr.  Allen  entered  the  Institute ; 
and  recently  his  grades  in  Synthetic  Bible  Study  were  among 
the  highest  in  the  class.  He  is  one  of  the  brightest  trophies 
of  God's  grace  during  the  American  campaign  of  the  evangel- 
ists. After  a  year  or  two  of  study  Mr.  Allen  hopes  to  return 
to  Canada,  to  carry  on  Mission  work  among  his  former  com- 
panions and  others. 

CAMPAIGN  STATISTICS 

The  Ottawa  campaign  closed  six  months  of  work  in  America 
during  which  nearly  15,000  publicly  confessed  Christ.  This 
made  a  total  of  over  115,000  during  the  four  and  a  half  years' 
tour  of  the  w^orld,  or  an  average  of  25,000  per  year.  It  con- 
stituted a  world-wide  work  w^hich,  in  many  respects,  had  not 
been  equalled  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  was 
a  triumph,  not  of  men,  but  of  prayer  and  of  faith  in  God; 
and  had  it  occurred  in  the  days  of  old  it  would  surely  have 
found  a  place  among  the  triumphs  recorded  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Hebrews,  where,  through  this  faith,  the  heroes  of 
old  ''wrought  righteousness,"  ''subdued  kingdoms,''  and 
"turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens." 

At  the  close  of  the  movement  in  Ottawa  Dr.  Torrey  re- 
turned to  the  United  States;  while  Mr.  Alexander  hurried 
homeward  to  Birmingham,  England,  where  his  wife  lay  ill. 

How  Mr.  Alexander  was  prevented  from  working  with  Dr. 
Torrey  the  next  year,  but,  instead,  made  a  second  tour  of  the 
world,  will  be  related  in  part  two  of  this  volume. 


XXIII 


EXPERIENCES  ON  SHIPBOARD 

It  was  through  the  illness  of  his  wife  that  Mr.  Alexander 
was  prevented  from  returning  to  the  United  States  to  con- 
tinue his  work  with  Dr.  Torrey;  but  took,  instead,  the  jour- 
ney around  the  world  with  his  wife  that  the  sea  air  might  com- 
pletely restore  her  health.  This  course  was  decided  upon,  not 
only  as  the  result  of  his  own  judgment  and  the  urgent  advice 
of  the  physicians,  but  with  the  hearty  and  cordial  concurrence 
of  Dr.  Torrey. 

So  it  came  about  that  Mr.  Alexander  made  a  second-world 
tour ;  and,  though  it  was  undertaken  primarily  for  the  benefit  of 
his  wife's  health,  it  also  was  a  notable  soul-winning  journey, 
as  the  following  pages  will  abundantly  witness.  It  was  not 
the  writer's  privilege  to  accompany  Mr.  Alexander  on  this 
second  tour,  but  I  met  him  in  England  immediately  upon  his 
return  home,  and  a  few  days  later  worked  with  him  almost 
constantly,  securing  from  his  own  lips  the  graphic  description, 
which  follows,  of  the  experiences  of  his  wife  and  himself  as 
they  girdled  the  globe. 

It  was  at  his  home,  called  ''Tennessee,"  at  Moor  Green,  Bir- 
mingham, England,  that  I  met  Mr.  Alexander  on  his  return 
from  his  second  tour.  He  was  in  the  best  of  health;  and 
seemed  to  be  thoroughly  rested  after  the  strain  of  over  twelve 
years  of  almost  continuous  revival  work.  As  I  looked  at  his 
face,  after  a  year's  separation,  I  realized  as  never  before  the 


304      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

depth  of  the  man's  sympathy  and  the  power  of  his  big-hearted 
love.  It  is  Httle  wonder  that  everywhere  he  went,  on  the 
second  journey,  as  well  as  the  first,  he  won  the  good  will  and 
affection — of  tens  of  thousands.  He  loves  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  and  it  is  the  love  of  Christ  shining  out  through  his 
words  and  actions  which  draws  people  to  him.  It  is  simpljTa 
modern  version  of  the  eternal  truth,  *'And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me.'* 

As  we  sat  in  Mr.  Alexander's  study  one  morning  in  July, 
1907,  he  began  the  narrative  of  his  second  journey  by  giving 
a  brief  itinerary  of  the  trip,  and  relating  some  of  their  expe- 
riences on  ship-board.    He  said: 

MRS.  ALEXANDER'S  ILLNESS 
"After  four  and  a  half  years'  work  with  Dr.  Torrey,  I  bade 
good-bye  to  him  in  Ottawa,  Canada,  at  the  end  of  June,  1906. 
We  had  accepted  invitations  and  arranged  Missions  in  the 
States  for  the  coming  year,  fully  expecting  to  work  together. 
I  returned  to  my  home  in  Birmingham,  England,  to  spend  my 
vacation  with  my  wife,  who  had  been  too  ill  to  accompany  me 
to  America.  After  four  happy  days  together  she  had  a  sudden 
turn  for  the  worse ;  and  the  doctors  were  hastily  called  in  and 
performed  a  dangerous  operation.  At  this  critical  juncture  I 
cabled  to  America  to  praying  friends ;  and  indeed  thousands  of 
people  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  were  praying  for  her 
recovery. 

*'Before  leaving  America  I  had  written  to  a  special  Prayer 
Circle  in  the  State  of  Iowa.  When  I  am  in  trouble  or  need 
guidance,  I  always  ask  them  to  pray.  I  had  told  them  that 
probably  an  operation  would  be  necessary  soon  after  I  reached 


Experiences  on  Shipboard 


307 


home;  but  it  had  to  take  place  six  days  earlier  than  the  date 
I  had  given.  I  cabled  immediately  beforehand  to  the  praying 
group.  One  of  the  most  godly  members  was  away  in  another 
part  of  the  State  when  the  cablegram  arrived.  They  were 
praying,  but  had  not  been  able  to  send  the  message  on  to  this 
member.  The  next  day  they  received  a  letter  from  her  say- 
ing that  at  a  certain  hour  in  the  day  she  had  such  a  strong 
impression  that  Mrs.  Alexander  needed  help,  that  she  was  led 
out  in  an  agony  of  prayer  for  a  long  season,  and  had  wrestled 
with  God  for  her. 

''We  were  also  praying  earnestly  here  at  home.  The  doc- 
tors made  several  visits  each  day.  While  they  were  with  my 
wife,  we  would  be  downstairs  praying  that  God  would  give 
them  wisdom.  vShe  gradually  grew  better,  and  we  all  believe 
her  recovery  was  in  direct  answer  to  prayer. 

''The  doctors  said  she  must  be  kept  upon  the  sea  for  many 
months  to  come  to  ensure  a  complete  recovery.  Our  minds 
immediately  turned  to  China  where  my  wife's  sister  and  her 
husband,  Dr.  Neville  Bradley,  had  gone  a  year  before  to  take 
charge  of  a  C.  M.  S.  Mission  Station  and  hospital  at  Pakhoi, 
which  is  on  the  coast,  about  400  miles  south  of  Hong-Kong. 
My  wife's  mother  and  youngest  sister  had  gone  on  before  for 
a  long  visit  with  them.  So  we  decided  to  go  round  the 
world,  visiting  China  on  the  way.  Leaving  London  on 
November  23,  we  made  all  the  long  journey  chiefly  by  water. 
We  visited  Port  Said  and  Colombo  and  the  Straits  Settlements, 
and  reached  Hong-Kong  on  December  29.  We  spent  about 
two  months  in  China,  and  went  on  to  Australia,  visiting  the 
Philippine  Islands  on  the  way.  After  a  month  spent  in  visit- 
ing friends  and  holding  meetings  in  some  of  the  leading  cities 


3o8      Twice;  Around  the;  Wori.d  With  Ai,:^xandi:r 

of  Australia,  we  returned  to  England  via  America.  The 
entire  journey  occupied  about  seven  months. 

THE  OCEAN  VOYAGE 

"When  we  left  England  a  large  number  of  friends  came  to 
Tilbury  Docks  to  see  us  off  on  the  P.  &  O.  steamship  India. 
A  young  doctor,  Hubert  Gordon-Thompson,  of  Liverpool,  was 
going  out  to  assist  my  brother-in-law.  Dr.  Bradley,  in  his 
medical  mission  work;  and  so  we  had  arranged  to  go  on  the 
same  ship.  His  mother  tenderly  asked  us  to  cheer  her  boy  and 
be  kind  to  him  on  the  voyage,  which  of  course  we  gladly  did. 
As  the  tender  left  the  side  of  our  steamship,  bearing  our 
loved  ones  back  to  shore,  a  photograph  was  secured,  showing 
Dr.  Thompson's  hand  as  he  was  waving  good-bye  to  his 
mother  in  the  distance. 

''Before  leaving,  we  had  asked  our  friends  everywhere  to 
pray  especially  that,  wherever  we  were  on  land  or  sea,  we 
might  be  good  witnesses  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
m^any  opportunities  that  opened,  and  the  results  from  some  of 
them  proved  to  us  that  prayer  had  gone  up  and  was  answered. 
By  the  time  we  had  reached  Port  Said  we  had  become 
acquainted  with  a  large  number  of  people.  A  clergyman  came 
to  see  us  while  the  ship  was  lying  in  dock ;  and  told  us  about 
some  American  missionaries  whom  he  had  visited  that  morn- 
ing, who  had  a  school  in  the  heart  of  the  Arab  town,  and 
that  they  would  be  glad  to  see  us.  We  three  soon  started  to 
visit  them;  and  we  found  a  most  interesting  school,  with 
about  lOO  pupils.  The  whole  cost  of  running  the  school  was 
only  $150  a  month — one  of  the  cheapest  missionary  enter- 
prises I  have  ever  seen  which  was  accomplishing  anything. 


Expi:riences  on  Shipboard  309 

We  tried  to  encourage  them  in  every  way  we  could ;  and  were 
interested  in  finding  out  the  effect  different  Gospel  hymns 
had  had  upon  the  Hves  of  the  pupils.  They  narrated  story 
after  story  how  the  children  went  back  to  their  heathen  homes ; 
and,  even  after  they  had  married  heathen  husbands  and  were 
not  yet  Christians  themselves,  they  would  continue  to  sing 
the  hymns,  which  God  might  use  to  their  salvation.  When 
they  saw  how  interested  I  was  in  that  part  of  their  work,  they 
took  me  into  their  little  dining-room  and  showed  me  a  small 
harmonium  which  Mr.  Sankey  had  used  for  some  time  in  his 
work  in  America.  They  treasure  it  with  great  care.  After 
hearing  some  experiences  of  our  own  work  in  saving  the 
lost,  and  listening  to  some  of  theirs,  we  closed  our  short  visit 
with  a  time  of  prayer,  which  they  said  gave  them  a  great 
uplift. 

''Returning  to  our  ship  we  went  on  our  way,  and  were 
interested  as  we  passed  up  the  other  end  of  the  Suez  Canal  to 
hear  from  the  lips  of  the  Bishop  of  New  Zealand,  who  was 
standing  near  us  on  the  deck,  that  just  a  few  miles  thence  was 
what  was  thought  to  be  the  place  where  the  children  of  Israel 
passed  across,  and  where  Pharaoh's  host  was  drowned.  Each 
day  that  followed  was  packed  with  interest. 

BETTING  ON  THE  SHIP'S  SPEED 

*'After  we  had  been  at  sea  a  few  days  some  of  the  men 
began  to  go  among  the  passengers  to  collect  money  for  sweep- 
stakes on  the  day's  run  of  the  ship.  When  they  approached 
me  I  did  not  understand  at  first  what  this  money  was  to  go 
for;  and  asked  the  collector  if  there  was  any  form  of  gambling 
in  it.    He  said,  'yes,'  there  was  a  phase  of  lottery  in  it.  I 


3IO      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

told  him  that  I  would  be  glad  to  contribute  to  anything  else 
that  would  be  for  the  enjoyment  of  others;  but  I  could  not 
possibly  join  them  in  that.  I  noticed  that  almost  everybody — 
men,  women  and  children — joined  in  this  kind  of  gambling. 
It  seemed  to  grow  more  exciting  each  day,  until  they  began  to 
Imve  what  they  called  "Calcutta  Sweepstakes."  After  the 
money  is  collected  the  choices  are  put  up  at  auction ;  and  one 
day  a  woman  won  300  dollars  by  choosing  the  lucky  number. 
I  noticed  a  large  number  of  passengers  congratulating  her,  and 
crowding  round  her,  and  she  seemed  highly  delighted,  I 
watched  this  in  its  different  aspects  during  the  trip.  I  learned 
to  know  several  young  men  who  were  on  their  way  to  the 
East,  whither  they  were  going  to  take  positions  in  business. 
Some  of  them  gambled  so  heavily  that  they  had  to  borrow 
money  before  they  could  land  at  their  destination.  I  talked 
with  one  Scotch  boy,  the  son  of  a  minister.  My  wife  and  I 
engaged  him  in  conversation  at  different  times  when  he 
appeared  lonely;  and  we  found  that  he  was  beginning  to 
indulge  in  things  on  board  which  he  had  never  done  before, 
supposing  that  in  order  to  be  tliought  a  man  he  must  take 
up  these  practices.  We  were  glad  to  see  that  he  seemed  to 
drop  them  again. 

*'In  my  conversation  I  found  that  many  who  were  church 
members  indulged  as  freely  in  the  daily  lottery  as  did  others. 
One  day  I  was  sitting  on  the  deck  with  an  Australian  gentle- 
man. I  was  speaking  in  glowing  terms  of  Australia  and  her 
people.  He  said  that  he  was  proud  of  Australia;  but  there 
was  one  thing  that  was  becoming  a  great  blight  upon  the 
country.  He  said  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Government 
and  had  often  made  speeches  against  the  gambling  which  was 


ExPERiENCKS  ON  Shipboard 


spreading  like  wild-fire  over  part  of  the  country.  I  compli- 
mented him  upon  this  stand.  We  were  going  into  some 
details  about  it,  when  I  noticed  two  men  making  the  regular 
daily  round  to  collect  the  sweepstakes  on  the  run.  I  supposed 
when  they  reached  him  that  he  would  indignantly  refuse  after 
such  a  warm  arraignment  of  gambling.  On  they  came.  They 
knew  where  I  stood ;  and,  passing  me  by  said,  calling  him  by 
name,  'We  want  your  money  now.'  He  said,  'How  much?* 
They  named  the  sum,  and  he  sat  up,  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket 
and  meekly  handed  it  over  w^ith  a  smile. 

'1  said,  'I  thought  you  were  opposed  to  gambling  in  all  of  its 
forms,  and  had  made  speeches  against  it?' 

"  'Yes,'  he  said,  1  have.' 

''I  said,  'Why  don't  you  quit  it  yourself?  No  man  is  ever 
able  to  win  a  case  by  compromise.  Here  are  young  men  on 
this  ship  who  look  up  to  you  as  an  example ;  and  you  go  with 
the  crowd  and  gamble  with  them,  and  then  go  home  and  make 
great  speeches  against  it.' 

''He  said  he  had  the  same  criticism  passed  upon  his  con- 
duct before.  Very  soon  they  began  to  sell  the  sweepstakes  at 
the  other  end.  He  stood  up  and  looked  along  the  deck,  and 
said,  'Well,  I  am  ashamed  of  myself.  Here  I  have  put  my 
money  into  that  sweepstake,  and  the  very  form  of  gambling  I 
abhor  has  been  encouraged  with  my  money.' 

GOSPEL  SONGS  IN  THE  SALOON 
'^Whcn  they  began  to  prepare  for  the  concert  in  the  saloon 
they  asked  me  if  I  would  sing.    I  told  them  I  never  sang 
anything  in  public  but  Gospel  songs.    If  they  would  like  me 
to  sing  one  of  these  I  would  gladly  do  it.    I  sang  the  song, 


312      Twice;  Around  the;  WorIvD  With  Ai.exande:r 

'Was  That  Somebody  You?'  one  of  the  most  appropriate  for 
an  occasion  Hke  this. 

''Another  time  I  sang  Mr.  Harkness's  new  song,  'No 
Burdens  Yonder.'  I  had  some  leaflets  with  it  in,  and  gave 
them  away  to  those  who  wanted  them.  Most  of  them  were 
eager  for  them.  Two  or  three  asked  for  them  that  they 
might  send  them  home  to  their  wives.  When  I  sang  these  two 
Gospel  songs  they  knew  where  I  stood;  and  it  opened  up 
several  conversations.  I  have  noticed  that,  on  all  of  the  boats 
where  I  have  sung,  some  person  with  a  heavy  heart  comes  to 
me  sooner  or  later;  and  I  have  the  privilege  of  pointing  him 
to  Jesus.  I  heard  various  people  playing  the  songs  over  on 
the  piano  and  humming  them  quietly  at  different  times  after- 
wards. 

''Dr.  Thompson,  my  wife  and  I  used  to  have  our  little  time 
together  in  the  evening  to  report  the  day's  work,  read  a 
chapter  and  have  a  prayer.  This  was  always  a  refreshing 
time.  It  did  our  souls  good  to  kneel  before  our  Father  and 
get  new  strength  to  work  among  the  scores  of  those  who 
cared  for  nothing  but  drinking  and  card-playing. 

"We  reached  Colombo,  Ceylon,  on  a  Sunday  morning.  I 
never  expected  any  one  would  be  there  to  meet  us,  for  we 
were  not  acquainted  with  any  one,  but  we  were  pleasantly  sur- 
prised to  be  met  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Secretary,  who  had  read 
a  book  concerning  our  work,  and  knew  that  we  were  on  board 
the  boat.  He  took  us  ashore ;  and  went  with  us  to  an  English 
Church  where  we  enjoyed  a  hearty  service.  The  congrega- 
tion was  made  up  of  both  white  people  and  natives.  Outside 
the  church  there  were  cocoanut  palms  full  of  fruit — smooth, 
round,  green  balls.    The  clergyman  took  us  all  up  to  the 


Experiences  on  Shipboard 


313 


Church  Missionary  Society  house  for  tiffin.  It  was  a  typical 
Ceylon  bungalow  with  wide  verandas,  and  a  large  open  guest- 
room in  front,  separated  from  the  dining  and  living  rooms 
only  by  screens,  so  that  it  might  be  as  cool  and  airy  as  pos- 
sible. We  found  there  two  missionaries  from  Australia,  who 
had  been  in  our  Missions  five  years  before. 

"At  two  o'clock  we  sailed  away  in  another  P.  &  O.  boat,  the 
Delta^  for  Hong-Kong.  We  went  ashore  at  Penang,  and  at 
Singapore,  where  three  young  business  men  left  their  work 
and  came  down  to  the  ship  to  welcome  us.  We  could  be  there 
only  a  few  hours ;  and  they  kindly  volunteered  to  show  us  the 
place.  What  interested  us  most  of  all  was  to  hear  about  the 
different  lines  of  work  these  friends  were  carrying  on.  They 
hold  various  meetings,  and  Bible  classes;  and  every  Sun- 
day morning  some  of  them  go  down  to  the  steamer  docks 
about  two  miles  away  from  the  town,  and  go  in  and  out 
among  the  sailors  and  stewards,  doing  personal  work,  dis- 
tributing Christian  literature,  and  inviting  them  to  the  meet- 
ings if  they  go  ashore.  In  this  far-away  city  wickedness  of 
every  kind  is  rampant;  but  it  was  beautiful  to  see  these  men 
standing  true  to  our  Lord  and  witnessing  for  him.  We 
managed  to  introduce  them  to  our  young  friend  from  Scot- 
land, the  minister's  son.  He  had  told  us  about  his  home  on  the 
moors,  and  the  free  simple  life  full  of  sea  adventures  up  in 
the  islands ;  and  we  wanted  to  get  him  in  touch  with  the  right 
kind  of  things  in  Singapore.  We  had  a  season  of  prayer  on 
board  the  ship  before  we  said  good-bye  to  our  new  friends. 
Finding  that  they  needed  some  .Gospel  hymn-books,  I  sent 
them  some  for  their  work,. besides  arranging  for  them  to  have 
a  number  of  Mr,  Moody's  works." 


XXIV 


A  NEW  YEAR  TEXT  SELECTED 

It  will  be  remembered  that  during  his  first  tour  of  the  world, 
Mr.  Alexander  adopted  a  year  text  which  led  to  several  con- 
versions, and  the  story  of  which  was  told  and  retold  all  over 
Christendom.  During  the  second  journey,  a  new  one,  was 
adopted,  the  narrative  of  which  has  already  been  a  help  and 
comfort  to  many.    Mr.  Alexander  said: 

''We  spent  our  Christmas  on  the  sea,  and  it  was  touching  to 
see  how  the  passengers  vied  with  one  another  in  making  it  a 
happy  day.  V^ery  early  in  the  morning  we  were  awakened  by  the 
sound  of  singing  just  outside  our  cabin;  and  found  that  the 
stewards  had  gathered  to  sing  the  'Glory  Song,'  followed  by 
several  Christmas  Carols,  in  honor  of  the  day. 

"On  reaching  Hong-Kong  we  bade  good-bye  to  our  friends 
on  board  the  Delta;  but  we  had  managed  to  do  some  personal 
work  with  several  before  leaving.  I  have  never  seen  a 
description  of  Hong-Kong  that  did  it  justice.  As  we  sailed 
into  the  harbor  it  seemed  that  anything  we  had  heard  of  it 
came  far  short  of  what  it  really  is.  When  our  tender  drew  up 
to  the  dock,  two  friends  were  there  to  meet  us,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  Archdeacon  Banister,  who  made  us 
feel  at  home  immediately.  That  afternoon  at  the  Peak  Hotel 
several  Christian  people  promptly  called  upon  us  and  gave 
us  a  warm  welcome.  Dr.  Bradley  came  to  Hong-Kong  a 
few  days  later  to  take  us  back  with  him  to  Pakhoi. 


A  New  Year  Text  Selected  315 

"We  spent  New  Year's  Eve  in  that  far-away  place.  There 
were  only  four  of  us  in  our  sitting-room  at  the  Peak  Hotel — 
Dr.  Bradley,  Dr.  Thompson,  my  wife  and  myself.  I  proposed 
that  we  should  have  a  prayer-meeting  that  would  last  out  the 
old  year  and  into  the  new.  We  had  a  blessed  time  in  prayer 
for  about  an  hour;  and  when  we  rose  from  our  knees  I  sug- 
gested that  we  should  choose  a  Year  Verse  the  first  thing  in 
the  new  year,  to  be  our  motto  all  through  it.  We  easily  settled 
upon  that  old  verse  which  is  so  familiar  to  lovers  of  the  New 
Testament,  John  14:  i — Xct  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye 
believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.'  We  wondered  why  we 
were  led  to  choose  this,  little  dreaming  how  precious  it  would 
become  to  us  before  our  journey  was  finished. 

SHOUTED  SCRIPTURE  FAREWELLS 
'In  the  short  time  that  we  had  remaining  in  Hong-Kong, 
we  enlisted  several  others  to  adopt  this  verse  as  their  Year- 
Text  also.  The  day  we  left  the  landing-stage  for  the  small 
coasting  steamer  which  was  to  take  us  to  Pakhoi,  a  young 
doctor,  whose  acquaintance  we  had  made,  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Secretary  were  there  to  see  us  off.  As  our  boat  steamed  out 
across  the  water,  we  waved  farewell ;  and,  instead  of  calling 
out  'good-bye,'  shouted  'John-Fourteen-One'  to  them,  and  they 
answered  with  the  same.  As  long  as  we  could  hear  each  other 
we  shouted  it  back  and  forth.  It  reminded  me  of  the  time 
when  I  shouted  'Second-Timothy-Two-Fifteen'  to  the  man  on 
the  back  of  the  train  in  America,  but  I  hardly  hoped  to  hear 
from  this  as  I  had  done  from  the  other. 

''Five  weeks  later  I  held  a  meeting  in  the  theatre  in  Hong- 
Kong,    The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Secretary  who  had  called  'John- 


3i6      Twice  x\round  the  World  With  Alexander 

Fourteen-One'  to  us  from  the  landing-stage,  told  me  that  the 
manager  of  the  press-room,  where  the  printing  of  our  song- 
sheets  was  done,  had  told  him  that  he  w^as  a  Scotchman  from 
a  Christian  home,  and  that  he  happened  to  be  down  on  the 
landing-stage  one  morning,  and  heard  some  people  shouting 
'John-Fourteen-One'  back  and  forth.  He  said  he  w^as  far 
from  being  a  Christian ;  but  it  impressed  him  so  much  that  he 
went  home  and  took  down  his  unused  Bible  and  looked  it  up, 
and  from  that  day  on  he  was  unable  to  get  it  out  of  his  mind, 
and  that  he  would  like  to  see  me.  The  last  morning  I  was  there, 
I  had_pnly  a  few^  minutes;  but  I  went  around  and  talked  to 
him.  I  found  him  a  fine  Scotchman,  but  he  needed  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  I  asked  him  if  the  influence  of  his  father  and 
mother  had  not  followed  him  all  the  way  out  there,  and  he 
said  *yes.'  He  knew  the  way  and  was  deeply  impressed.  He 
held  my  hand,  while  the  tears  started  from  his  eyes.  I  could 
not  remain  longer,  for  my  ship  was  sailing  shortly.  He  did 
not  decide  immediately ;  but  said  that  he  w^ould  write  me  when 
he  had  decided.  I  have  not  received  the  letter,  but  I  often 
pray  for  him. 

''Everything  was  of  interest  as  we  sailed  into  Pakhoi.  It 
was  so  entirely  Chinese.  The  customs  boat  took  us  off  the 
ship.  In  the  distance,  as  we  neared  the  shore,  we  saw  some 
people  in  European  dress ;  and  it  was  most  touching  to  see 
my  wife's  eagerness,  as  she  looked  through  the  field-glasses, 
to  see  whether  they  were  her  mother  and  sisters.  It  was  a 
happy  reunion.  After  our  greetings,  and  when  we  had  settled 
in  our  rooms,  we  met  together;  and  our  mother,  Mrs.  Cad- 
bury,  and  our  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Bradley  and  Miss  Beatrice 
Cadbury,  all  joined  us  in  taking  John  14 :  i  as  their  Year-Text. 


A  New  Year  Text  Selected  317 

Another  who  took  it  with  us  was  Mrs.  Beauchamp,  whose 
late  husband  was  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  Pakhoi,  and 
who  now  Hves  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley.  A  few  days  later 
we  went  up  to  Liem-chau,  17  miles  from  Pakhoi,  where  the 
Year-Text  was  adopted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wicks,  and  Mr. 
Norman  Mackenzie,  the  only  three  English  (G.M.S.)  mis- 
sionaries in  that  place. 

"Let  me  show  you  how  much  each  one  of  us  needed  just 
that  verse,  and  how  precious  it  has  proved  to  us  during  the 
various  experiences  that  have  befallen  us  in  the  six  months 
since  we  adopted  it. 

ACCIDENT  TO  MR.  ALEXANDER 

"One  afternoon  during  our  stay  in  Pakhoi  we  went  out 
for  a  ride  across  the  country.  They  have  no  roads  out  there ; 
and  one  has  to  follow  the  rough  paths  as  best  he  can.  My 
horse  was  a  fiery  animal,  and  dashed  across  the  plain  where 
the  country  was  very  rough.  In  the  middle  of  a  gallop  he  trod 
into  a  deep  rut  and  stumbled  headlong,  fortunately  hurling  me 
beyond  the  reach  of  his  hoofs  as  he  rolled  over.  I  never 
knew  anything  about  it  until  the  next  afternoon,  for  I  did  not 
recover  full  consciousness  till  then.  My  brother-in-law  was 
with  me,  and  managed  to  get  me  into  a  native  carrying-chair, 
and  had  me  carried  back  the  two  miles  home.  My  wife  was 
farther  on  in  front;  and  a  message  was  sent  to  tell  her  that  I 
was  seriously  injured.  She  said  her  heart  almost  failed  her  as 
she  followed  on  as  fast  as  she  could,  for  she  did  not  know 
whether  she  should  find  me  alive  or  not.  She  told  me  after- 
wards that  her  one  comfort,  every  step  she  took,  was  our 
verse,  Xet  not  your  heart  be  troubled.'    She  said  she  knew 


3i8      TvvicK  Around  the  World  With  Ai^exander 

then  why  she  had  been  led  to  take  that  as  her  Year-Text.  It 
was  an  anxious  time  for  all  of  them,  and  the  verse  was  much 
comfort  to  the  company. 

*'To  our  youngest  sister,  a  few  months  later,  there  came 
one  of  the  most  trying  times  that  can  come  to  any  one  in  this 
world.  As  she  returned  from  China  with  Mrs,  Cadbury, 
across  the  Pacific  to  America,  in  a  moment  of  time  she  was 
deprived  of  her  mother.  During  a  heavy  storm  Mrs.  Cad- 
bury had  started  up  the  companionway,  and  had  almost  reached 
the  top,  when  a  sudden  lurch  of  the  ship  threw  her  back- 
wards. She  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  stairs,  and  received  such 
injuries  that  she  passed  away,  without  having  regained  con- 
sciousness. Then  it  was  that  John  14 :  i  became  a  living  word 
to  our  bereaved  sister. 

*'We  were  in  New  York  City  when  we  learned  of  the  acci- 
dent; and  again  this  verse  was  our  stay  and  comfort  in  the 
midst  of  our  sorrow. 

MISSIONARIES  HAVE  TO  FLEE 

'*Many  of  my  readers  have  seen  the  reports  of  the  troublous 
times  in  Pakhoi  and  Liem-chau  which  have  recently  been  expe- 
rienced by  the  missionaries  in  those  districts.  I  have  just 
read  of  their  striking  experiences.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wicks  were 
seated  at  their  noon-day  meal  when  they  heard  that  the  rebels 
were  surrounding  their  house.  They  hurriedly  escaped,  leav- 
ing everything  in  their  home,  which  was  looted  from  top  to 
bottom.  They  spent  a  few  days  in  the  house  of  a  military 
official,  guarded  by  soldiers;  and  later  were  escorted  during 
the  night-time  by  fifty  soldiers  down  to  Pakhoi.  One  night, 
during  the  disturbances,  such  rumors  reached  Pakhoi,  that 


A  New  Yf:AR  Text  Selected 


319 


the  Consul  ordered  the  missionaries  to  take  their  wives  and 
children  and  the  other  ladies  on  to  a  British  ship  which  lay 
in  the  harbor.  For  that  night  Dr.  Gordon-Thompson  was 
left  alone  in  the  Mission  compound,  and  was  thus  led  to  lean 
upon  that  verse — Xet  not  your  heart  be  troubled :  ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me.'  They  returned  to  shore  next  day; 
and  all  the  missionaries  lived  together  in  Dr.  Bradley's  house, 
as  being  the  most  central  point  of  the  Mission. 

**It  was  during  these  fearful  times,  that  Mrs.  Bradley  also 
received  the  sad  news  of  her  mother's  death.  I  suppose  no 
better  verse  in  the  Bible  than  our  Year-Text  could  have  been 
chosen  for  her  at  this  time.  The  ladies  and  children  had 
Anally  to  leave  Pakhoi  altogether,  and  were  sent  to  Hong- 
Kong,  leaving  behind  the  men  of  the  Mission;  thus  bringing 
added  anxiety  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  in  their  time  of  sorrow, 
in  which  the  strength  of  John  14:  I  was  revealed  yet  more 
clearly.  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  is 
now  in  England  on  a  vacation  from  his  Mission  field,  in  which  he 
tells  me  that  his  motlier  is  lying  seriously  ill  in  the  hospital 
in  this  country,  and  that  his  books,  furniture  and  home 
have  all  been  destroyed  by  the  rebels  in  Liem-chau.  He  was 
one  of  the  number  who  most  eargerly  chose  John  14:  i.  He, 
too,  is  passing  through  a  testing  time,  in  which  he  finds  his 
Year-Text  is  all  sufficient  for  the  need." 


XXV 


AMONG  THE  LEPERS  AT  PAKHOI 

At  Pakhoi  Mr.  Alexander  had  his  first  experience  among 
lepers.  He  gave  a  graphic  description  of  their  condition  and 
occupations ;  and  told  of  the  difficulties  which  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  their  printing  the  Bible,  saying : 

''Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  fitted  up  two  large  rooms  for  us 
several  hundreds  yards  away  from  their  house.  The  man 
who  was  to  wait  upon  us  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English; 
so  we*  had  to  do  the  best  we  could  with  signs,  and  a  few  Stray 
words  of  Chinese  which  we  could  muster.  Just  over  a  low 
brick  wall  from  us  were  the  two  leper  compounds.  Our  rooms 
were  at  one  end  of  the  long  hospital  building ;  and  in  the  leper 
compounds  there  wxre  about  ninety  men  and  forty-seven 
women.  I  had  read  at  different  times  of  work  among  the 
lepers;  and  wondered  if  any  one  could  go  in  and  out  among 
them  without  risk  of  infection.  But  soon  it  became  a  custom 
to  go  over  and  visit  them,  speaking  to  them  through  an  inter- 
preter. They  were  always  keenly  interested  to  talk  on  any 
subject  we  could  introduce.  They  had  Bible  examinations 
while  we  were  there ;  and  we  asked  them  to  state  some  of  their 
questions.  I  do  not  believe  Bible  students  in  this  country  would 
give  better  answers  than  they  gave.  Most  of  them  could  not 
read  when  they  entered  the  compound,  but  have  been  taught  to 
do  so;  and,  now  that  some  of  them  are  well  educated,  they 
themselves  help  in  instructing  others.    They  have  nice  rooms 


Among  thi:  Lkpers  at  Pakhoi  321 

furnishtd  for  them  and  so  much  allowance  for  rice.  They  do 
their  own  cooking.  I  recall  especially  the  long  low  building 
bricked  up  at  one  side  and  open  at  the  other,  where  there  were 
probably  fifty  or  sixty  little  Chinese  fire  places  with  quaint 
bellows  at  the  side,  which  would  quickly  blow  up  their  fire 
when  they  chose  to  cook  a  meal. 

THE  LEPERS*  DAILY  LIFE 

''These  lepers  are  very  industrious.  They  spend  a  certain 
part  of  the  day  in  a  school  room,  where  you  would  see  little 
boys  in  their  teens  up  to  old  men  between  60  and  80  in  the 
same  class,  eagerly  studying  the  lessons  planned  by  the  teach- 
ers. At  other  times  they  are  engaged  in  various  occupations ; 
some  making  baskets,  others  making  twine.  They  are  allowed 
to  go  out  into  the  towns  to  sell  their  products  and  retain  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale.  I  think  it  is  a  wise  arrangement.  It 
encourages  them  in  industry,  and  develops  the  individual. 
The  work  is  supported  mostly  by  funds  received  from  friends 
in  England.  The  women  and  the  girls  are  taught  to  make  lace. 
This,  like  the  other  goods  made  by  the  lepers,  is  disinfected; 
and  some  of  it  is  exported  for  sale,  the  money  being  used  to 
carry  on  the  work. 

''When  we  first  stepped  into  their  quarters,  I  expected  to  see 
some  of  the  most  morbid  people  that  I  had  ever  met ;  but,  to 
my  surprise,  they  were  as  cheerful  as  any  other  people  we  saw 
while  we  were  away.  One  day  one  of  the  men  was  making 
some  peculiar  motions  while  he  was  twisting  the  twine.  I 
stepped  up  beside  him,  and  began  to  imitate  him  with  his  funny 
movements;  and  all  of  the  men  who  had  been  watching  me 
burst  out  laughing  as  heartily  as  a  crowd  of  Englishmen  would 


322      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

do.  Their  appearance  is  pitiful  in  the  extreme,  but  one  soon 
forgets  as  he  sees  their  cheerfulness.  Many  of  them  were 
bright  Christians.  The  leper  who  was  the  head  Bible  teacher 
for  the  compound  had  only  one  leg  and  had  other  deformities; 
but  he  was  always  kind  and  hopeful.  In  spite  of  their  infirmities 
the  lepers  conduct  a  well-equipped  printing  office.  Mrs.  Beau- 
champ,  who  for  years  has  been  interested  in  that  department 
of  the  work,  told  me  how  on  one  of  her  vacations  she  went  to 
a  printing  office  and  learned  how  to  set  type  and  also  to  use 
a  printing  press.  Then  she  purchased  an  outfit,  and  brought 
it  back  and  fitted  up  these  offices,  which  have  given  several  of 
the  lepers  employment  for  years. 

''The  first  morning  I  was  shown  through  the  office.  One  of 
the  missionaries  introduced  me  to  the  men;  and  I  was  espe- 
cially struck  with  the  face  of  the  office  foreman.  He  had  such 
an  open  countenance,  which  beamed  with  love  and  gentle- 
ness. I  asked  Mrs.  Beauchamp  to  interpret  to  him  that  I  was 
sure  he  must  love  his  Saviour,  judged  by  his  looks.  She 
translated  my  remark.  His  face  was  radiant  as  he  replied, 
'My  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  is  very  precious  to  me;  more 
precious  than  anything  on  earth.'  I  began  to  ask  questions 
about  the  work;  and  found  that  Mrs.  Beauchamp  and  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Horder,  who  had  gone  with  her  husband  to 
England  because  of  ill  health,  have  been  working  for  years  on 
a  Romanized  version  of  the  Bible  for  the  Chinese. 

PRINTING  BIBLES  FOR  CHINESE 
"It  takes  several  years  for  the  Chinese  to  learn  to  read  the 
characters  of  their  own  language ;  but,  by  spelling  with  Roman 
letters  in  their  local  dialect,  they  learn  it  in  a  few  months. 


Among  the:  LepKRS  at  Pakhoi  325 

Many  educated  people  object  to  the  Romanized  editions;  but 
I  thought  one  of  the  missionaries  gave  a  very  strong  argument 
for  it  when  she  said  that  some  of  the  lepers  died  in  a  few- 
months  after  they  entered  the  compound,  and  many  of  them 
died  before  they  learned  the  Chinese  characters.  She  pre- 
ferred to  put  aside  the  whims  of  a  few  fastidious  critics,  and 
let  the  poor  heathen  know  about  Jesus  Christ,  no  matter  if 
the  message  was  not  conveyed  to  them  in  the  highest  literary 
form ;  thus  following  out  Paul's  injunction,  'by  all  means  save 
some/ 

"The  printing  press  was  not  a  very  large  one.  They  could 
print  only  a  sixteen-page  sheet  on  one  side.  They  had  no 
method  of  making  the  electrotypes ;  so,  as  soon  as  they  printed 
a  thousand  copies  on  the  sixteen-page  sheet,  the  type  had  to  be 
distributed  and  set  up  again  for  the  next  sixteen  pages  of  the 
Bible.  This  is  a  long  process,  and  not  the  way  printing  is  done 
in  this  country.  They  had  been  about  eight  years  printing 
the  Bible.  While  I  was  there  they  printed  the  last  sixteen 
pages  of  the  old  Testament,  which  completed  the  book,  as  the 
thousand  copies  of  the  New  Testament  had  been  printed  first. 
They  had  stored  away  the  sheets  as  they  had  printed  them; 
and,  as  soon  as  the  last  pages  were  finished,  they  opened  up 
the  other  cases,  so  that  they  might  bind  them  into  book  form ; 
when  to  their  astonishment  and  dismay  they  found  that  the 
white  ants  had  cut  through  almost  every  page  of  half  the 
New  Testament  copies  and  haci  ruined  the  work  of  years. 
When  asked  what  they  were  going  to  do,  they  said:  'We 
are  going  to  start  again  and  do  it  over,*  and  when  I  le  '  they 

"Each  day  at  Pakhoi  was  filled  with  interest ;  and  our  family 
were  beginning  the  long  task  with  undaunted  courage. 


326      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 


Prayers  morning  and  evening  were  rich  with  blessing.  I  was 
glad  to  observe  that  through  all  the  distractions,  perplexities 
and  cares  of  that  large  Mission  station,  my  brother  and  his 
wife  never  lost  sight  of  the  main  issue  of  their  work,  to  lesKi 
people  to  a  definite  decision  for  Jesus  Christ/' 


XXVI 


A  JOURNEY  TO  LIEM-CHAU 

During  his  stay  in  Pakhoi,  Mr.  Alexander  made  a  jour- 
ney to  Liem-Chau,  a  typical  Chinese  city,  where  a  few  mission- 
aries had  been  doing  heroic  work  for  years.  It  was  only  a 
.<5hort  time  after  his  visit  that  the  homes  of  the  missionaries 
were  looted,  and  they  had  to  fly  for  their  lives.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander said : 

"I  had  heard  much  about  the  work  at  Liem-chau,  17  miles 
away,  and  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  visiting  it.  As  we 
got  into  our  Chinese  carrying-chairs  one  day  and  started 
across  the  plain  on  our  journey  there,  we  made  a  long  pro- 
cession, and  what  an  interesting  trip  it  was !  The  rest-houses 
along  the  road,  where  the  chair-carriers  stopped  for  their 
rice,  made  interesting  breaks  in  our  journey.  The  moment 
we  stood  face  to  face  with  our  Liem-chau  friends  we  knew  we 
were  in  the  presence  of  Spirit-filled  people.  After  our  lunch 
we  went  out  to  look  about  the  place ;  and  on  the  hillside  above 
us  I  saw  a  man  of  striking  appearance,  near  to  a  Hindoo 
temple.  He  waved  to  the  missionary  who  was  with  us,  and 
I  asked  who  he  was.  Mr.  Wicks  said  that  he  was  a  Buddhist 
monk,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  meet  him.  I  said  *Yes ; 
and  we  went  up  and  I  was  introduced  to  him.  Of  course,  he 
could  not  speak  English,  and  I  could  not  speak  Chinese;  but 
we  had  a  pleasant  conversation  with  Mr.  Wicks  as  interpreter. 
I  asked  him  many  things  about  his  religion  and  his  work ;  and 


328      Twice:  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^^xand^r 

he  talked  freely  about  them  and  invited  me  to  see  the  temple. 
I  went  in  and  looked  about.  He  asked  us  to  his  private  room 
in  the  temple.  While  in  there  I  began  to  talk  to  him  about 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  claims  upon  us.  He  seemed  to  agree 
easily  with  all  that  I  said ;  but  said  that  he  must  make  a  living, 
which  he  did  by  attending  to  his  duties  as  a  Buddhist  priest.  I 
had  a  copy  of  a  Gospel  Song  pamphlet  in  my  pocket;  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  like  to  hear  one  of  our  songs.  He  said 
he  would  be  glad  to  hear  it;  and  I  sang  one  which  we  have 
sung  so  much  in  our  Missions  everywhere. 

"  'I  surrender  all,  I  surrender  all ! 
All  to  thee,  my  blessed  Saviour,  I  surrender  all.' 

and  then  asked  Mr.  Wicks  to  tell  him  what  it  meant  and  what 
it  brought  with  it.  As  we  were  walking  down  the  temple  steps 
I  noticed  a  beautiful  jade  bracelet  on  his  wrist;  and  spoke 
about  it.  He  immediately  pulled  it  off  and  gave  it  to  me ;  and 
I  gave  him  a  song  book  and  a  little  pocketbook  that  I  had ;  and 
told  him  that  I  wanted  him  to  remember  that  a  man  would  be 
praying  that  he  might  accept  Christ  as  his  Saviour. 

CHINESE  EAGER  TO  LEARN 
''That  night  in  the  Wicks  house  we  were  eating  our  dinner 
in  one  end  of  a  large  room  on  the  ground  floor,  which  was 
partitioned  off  from  the  rest  by  a  few  wooden  screens,  when 
we  heard  noises  over  the  screens.  Soon  yellow  faces  began 
to  peer  around  the  screens  from  the  other  side ;  and  the  mis- 
sionary said  it  was  a  common  occurrence.  The  people  would 
often  creep  in,  to  look  at  strangers,  when  they  came.  They 
sent  a  message  in  to  us  to  ask  us  if  we  would  have  some  sing- 


A  Journey  to  Likm-Chau 


331 


ing  and  talking  after  we  had  finished  our  dinner.  This  we 
did ;  and  I  found  that  they  had  already  been  using  some  of  the 
hymns  which  we  used  in  our  Missions  in  this  country.  I  told 
them  of  incidents  in  connection  with  different  hymns  we  sang, 
which  were  interpreted  by  Mr.  Wicks  to  them.  Then  my  wife 
spoke  for  a  little  while.  The  women  seated  at  one  side  of  the 
hall,  and  men  at  the  other,  would  ask  questions  back  and 
forth,  and  seemed  interested;  and  the  crowd  kept  growing 
until  it  was  so  late  that  we  had  to  ask  them  to  go  away.  But 
the  dusky  faces  were  as  inspiring  as  if  they  had  belonged  to 
white  people,  who  could  understand  the  English  language. 

'*My  wife  and  her  mother,  Mrs.  Cadbury,  stayed  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wicks  in  their  house  that  night.  Dr.  Bradley  and  I 
went  to  another  part  of  the  city ;  and  stayed  with  Mr.  Norman 
Mackenzie,  a  young  Australian,  who  had  lived  in  the  house  of 
a  Chinaman  for  five  years.  He  explained  to  us  how  he  would 
take  his  Chinese  assistants  and  go  through  the  country  for 
weeks  at  a  time,  sleeping  in  the  Chinese  inns,  talking  about 
Jesus  wherever  he  could  get  any  one  to  listen  to  him.  He 
had  trained  his  colporters;  and  a  unique  part  of  his  work  I 
want  to  tell  you  about  was  this.  He  told  me  he  sold  almanacs. 
I  said,  'What  do  you  mean  ?  Why  do  you  sell  almanacs  ?'  He 
explained  that  the  Chinese  did  not  care  nearly  so  much  for  a 
book  that  was  given  to  them,  as  one  which  they  had  paid  for, 
and  that  they  all  wanted  reliable  almanacs,  if  they  could  afford 
only  to  have  one  book.  The  Mission  Board  had  prepared  a 
splendid  and  reliable  almanac,  based  on  the  Chinese  calendar ; 
and  had  printed  on  it  extracts  from  the  Gospel  and  Christian 
literature.  They  sold  thousands  of  these  almanacs  at  such 
a  price  that  the  Chinese  wondered  how  it  could  be  done ;  but 


332      Twic^  Around  the;  Wori.d  With  Ai^dxander 

they  bought  them,  and  in  this  way  people  were  reached  who 
could  not  be  reached  in  any  other  way.  There  were  only 
a  few  Christians  in  Liem-chau,  but  they  stood  firm  and  rejoiced 
in  persecution.  I  should  like  to  say  here  that  missionaries  are 
the  most  truly  happy  people  I  have  ever  met,  although  we 
often  here  at  home  pity  them.  It  was  beautiful  to  see  what 
little  note  they  took  of  all  kinds  of  privations,  which  would 
cause  plenty  of  grumbling  in  some  Christian  homes. 

MINGLE  HEALING  AND  EXHORTING 
"The  next  morning  the  people  began  to  come  into  Mr. 
Wick's  big  room  from  every  direction.  They  had  heard  that 
the  great  English  doctor  would  be  there  on  that  day.  The 
room  was  filled  with  men  and  women ;  men  on  the  one  side  and 
women  on  the  other,  with  all  kinds  of  diseases  and  pains. 
Mrs.  Wicks  had  screened  off  a  little  room  in  one  corner,  for  a 
consulting  room  and  dispensary  combined.  While  they  were 
waiting  to  go  in,  one  at  a  time,  to  be  treated,  and  receive  their 
medicine,  the  missionaries  and  native  helpers  were  there  with 
their  Bibles,  doing  personal  work  all  the  morning  long. 
There  was  a  hum  of  conversation  all  about  the  room  as  they 
gathered  in  little  groups.  This  was  as  fine  a  piece  of  per- 
sonal work  as  I  have  seen  in  any  after-meeting.  Mrs.  Wicks 
acted  as  interpreter  for  Dr.  Bradley,  while  the  women  were 
going  in;  and  I  would  ask  every  now  and  then  what  she  was 
saying  to  the  women,  and  found  that  she  let  no  opportunity 
pass  for  getting  in  a  word  about  their  soul  as  well  as  their 
body.  And  she  did  it  with  such  a  warmth  of  love  in  her  face, 
that,  although  I  could  not  understand  her  words,  I  saw  that  her 
messaf^e  was  going  home.    Then  Mr.  Wicks  interpreted  when 


A  Journey  to  LiEm-Chau  333 

the  men  began  to  come  in.  I  suppose  a  hundred  and  fifty 
people  passed  through  the  consulting  room  that  morning;  and 
they  all  received  a  message  about  Jesus  Christ  and  his  power 
to  save. 

"A  fine-looking  young  Chinaman  came  up  to  Mr.  Wicks; 
and  asked  if  I  would  take  a  picture  of  him  and  his  wife  and 
baby,  for  they  had  never  had  a  photograph  taken.  I  told  him 
I  would  gladly  do  it.  He  and  his  wife  were  both  earnest 
Christians,  and  he  was  the  school  teacher.  His  name  was  Mr. 
So.  After  I  had  taken  the  photographs  he  brought  his  new 
Chinese  Testament  around  for  me  to  put  my  name  in.  I 
wrote  my  name  and  'H.  Timothy  2:  15'  underneath  it.  He 
asked  what  I  had  written;  and,  as  I  told  him,  I  saw  a  quick 
flash  in  his  face,  and  he  began  to  talk  rapidly  to  Mr.  Wicks. 
Mr.  Wicks  told  me  that  he  said  'Oh  yes,  those  are  the  words 
that  he  called  out  to  the  man  on  the  back  of  the  train  in  the 
far-away  country.  I  read  the  story  in  a  Chinese  paper  that 
came  from  Shanghai.'  I  questioned  him,  through  Mr.  Wicks, 
and  found  that  he  remembered  the  whole  story  distinctly. 

**The  medical  side  to  Mission  work  opens  up  places  where 
nothing  else  would  gain  an  entrance.  The  wife  of  a  mandarin 
brought  her  little  son  over  for  an  operation  on  his  jaw;  and 
then  asked  my  wife  and  mother  to  call  on  her  that  afternoon. 
They  went  over  with  Mrs.  Wicks,  and  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  family.    In  this  way  the  missionaries  gain  an  entrance. 

MISSIONARIES'  HOMES  LOOTED 
"We  were  sorry  when  the  time  came  to  bid  good-bye  to  our 
friends;  and  little  did  we  think  that  the  new  home  just  built 
would  so  soon  be  looted  and  destroyed ;  for  Liem-chau  was  one 


334      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

of  the  scenes  where  the  recent  serious  disturbances  and  riots 
in  China  have  taken  place.  Day  after  day  the  newspapers 
have  told  of  the  destruction  wrought  by  the  mob  in  this  city, 
and  the  dangers  which  surrounded  the  foreign  inhabitants. 
The  house  of  our  hosts,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wicks,  was  looted  and 
everything  in  it  destroyed;  also  that  of  Mr.  Mackenzie. 

''We  have  received  recently  a  number  of  letters,  telling  of 
the  thrilling  experiences  of  our  missionary  friends  and  rela- 
tives in  the  midst  of  these  disturbances  in  Liem-chau  and 
Pakhoi.  In  one  of  them  Dr.  Bradley  writes  of  the  'trying  and 
anxious  time'  they  have  been  passing  through.  On  May  2Sth 
he  says : 

"Dr.  Thompson  arrived  back  early  from  Liem-chau  on 
Thursday  and  reported  all  quiet,  with  the  exception  of  a 
demand  made  by  many  hundreds  of  people  for  rice,  which  the 
officials  were  unable  to  meet,  except  by  giving  leave  to  the 
populace  to  help  themselves  at  a  large  rice  store,  the  Liem- 
chau  Fu  sitting  in  his  chair  at  the  time.  On  Thursday  after- 
noon I  went  to  Kotuk  as  usual,  and  when  I  got  back  just  near 
home  I  was  met  by  the  English  Consul's  friend,  telling  me  to 
go  at  once  to  the  Consulate.  I  got  there  and  found  that  a 
telegram  had  been  sent  from  So,  the  teacher  at  Liem-chau, 
saying  that  the  Wicks'  house  had  been  destroyed  and  that 
they  had  been  wounded.  The  German  Mission  had  been 
similarly  treated.  We  were  greatly  upset;  and  the  consuls 
and  we  missionaries  met  together  to  confer.  We  received 
another  telegram,  saying  that  the  Wicks  had  escaped  on  horse- 
back out  of  the  city.  It  was  decided  for  all  the  missionaries  to 
be  together  in  our  house.  Meawhile  Thompson  and  I  and  our 
horseman  set  out  on  the  horses  to  Liem-chau,  hoping  to  meet 


A  Journey  to  LiEm-Chau 


335 


the  Wicks.  We  started  in  a  heavy  thunderstorm.  So  in 
about  two  minutes  we  were  soaked  to  the  skin.  The  roads 
were  running  with  water  in  places  over  the  horses'  knees. 
Our  one  thought,  however,  was  to  get  on,  hoping  to  meet  our 
friends.  Where  there  were  two  ways,  Thompson  and  I  went 
one  way,  and  A-Saam  the  other.  On  the  other  side  of  Kotuk 
we  met,  and  here  we  stopped,  as  A-Saam  had  found  the 
Wicks'  cooHe.  We  learned  from  him  that  the  Wicks  were 
safe  in  the  Liem-chau  Fu's  yamen,  and  that  they  were  unhurt. 

''He  told  us  that,  as  they  were  sitting  down  to  tiffin,  they 
were  told  that  the  new  Chinese  schools,  which  are  of  course 
entirely  Chinese  and  run  by  the  Chinese,  no  religion  being 
taught  of  any  kind,  had  been  burned  to  the  ground,  and  that 
the  rebels  were  now  coming  to  their  house.  They  fortunately 
acted  promptly  and  departed.  Not  being  able,  as  we  subse- 
quently learned,  to  reach  the  Liem-chau  Fu's,  they  went  to  the 
Chan-Toi's  yamen,  who  is  the  head  of  the  military,  as  it  was 
not  very  far  away.  They  had  not  been  gone  long  before  their 
place  was  entered  and  ransacked  from  top  to  bottom,  all  the 
windows  were  broken ;  the  doors  taken  off  and  every  article  in 
the  house  carried  off.  * 

REFUGE  TAKEN  ON  SHIPBOARD 

"Thompson  and  I  got  back  to  Pakhoi  just  before  seven. 
There  was  great  excitement  as  the  people  were  supposed  to 
be  marching  on  Pakhoi,  The  consuls  had  had  a  consultation 
and  decided  that  all  the  ladies  should  go  to  an  English  ship, 
which  had  arrived  that  morning.  We  soon  got  things 
together,  and  the  refugees  started  off.  We  were  happy,  but 
we  must  have  looked  a  funny  crowd,  as  it  was  just  dark  when 


336      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexander 

we  started,  and  we  all  were  carrying  something,  either  a  baby 
or  a  handbag  or  a  box  of  some  description.  We  got  to  the 
house,  which  it  had  been  arranged  should  be  occupied  by  the 
men  of  the  community.  Here  we  got  into  sampans,  and  were 
taken  out  to  a  junk,  where  we  found  all  the  other  ladies  and 
children  and  a  few  of  their  belongings.  The  ship's  people 
did  not  expect  us  that  night,  and  were  taken  unawares.  They 
were  most  kind,  and  the  officers  did  all  they  could  for  us. 
They  turned  out  of  their  cabins,  and  made  us  as  comfortable  as 
they  could. 

''Early  next  morning  I-Shuk  came  on  board  with  a  note  from 
Thompson,  saying  that  all  was  quiet,  and  there  had  been  no 
disturbance  of  any  kind  during  the  night.  Mr.  Blanchett  and 
I  went  off  together,  and  came  up  to  the  compound.  The 
Liem-chau  Fu  and  Hoppo  had  both  sent  telegrams,  saying  that 
all  the  missionaries  were  safe  and  unhurt.  We  were  glad 
about  this.  It  has  been  very  difficult  to  find  out  from  the 
officials  the  exact  state  of  aflfairs ;  and,  as  they  have  not  been 
able  to  bring  the  Wicks  down  yet,  we  fear  that  the  city  must 
still  be  unquiet. 

'']nst  before  lunch  yesterday  all  our  party  arrived  off  the 
ship,  and  settled  in  this  house  for  a  night  or  two.  We  had  a 
happy  time  of  fellowship  together  last  night;  and  we  all 
retired,  feeling  that  we  were  safe  in  our  Heavenly  Father's 
keeping.  There  was  no  disturbance  in  the  night,  and  we  all 
slept  peacefully.  We  shall  all  keep  together  in  case  of  emer- 
gency. It  looks  as  if  things  would  settle  down,  although 
those  who  know  the  Chinese  best  say  that  it  is  most  uncer- 
tain; and,  whilst  there  is  no  immediate  danger  or  risk,  it  is 
well  to  be  prepared  for  whatever  may  turn  up.    The  immc- 


THE  GOSPEL  SINGER  IN  CHINESE  COSTUME 


A  Journey  to  Lij:m-Chau 


337 


diate  cause  seems  to  be  dissatisfaction  at  the  taxing  of  the 
poor,  which  takes  place  to  build  the  Chinese  schools.  This  is 
borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  rioters  first  destroyed  their 
own  schools  by  fire  and  then  attacked  the  Mission  property. 

VERY  DISTURBED  CONDITIONS 

*'In  a  later  letter  Dr.  Bradley  wrote:  'The  reports  about 
the  insurgents  are  more  reassuring.  It  looks  as  though  they 
might  be  stopped  from  plundering  any  more  by  the  govern- 
ment troops.  Late  on  Wednesday  night  we  were  disturbed  by 
a  loud  knocking.  I  went  down  and  found  two  rifles  and  a 
hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  from  the  English  Consul. 
Returned  with  thanks.  We  retained,  however,  some  red  flags 
in  case  of  alarm,  so  as  to  signal  to  other  people.' 

few  days  later  he  wrote:  'Our  Consul  has  had  bad 
news  about  the  Chinese  troops'  being  hemmed  in  by  the  insur- 
gents, about  seven  miles  from  Liem-chau,  and  that  shortly 
Liem-chau  would  probably  fall  into  their  hands,  and  then  it 
was  a  straight  run  to  Pakhoi.  The  Consul  requested  that  all 
ladies  should  leave  the  port.  All  our  ladies  decided  to  go. 
After  seeing  them  off  I  went  to  the  Consulate  to  find  out  what 
they  wished  us  to  do.  He  said  that  all  the  male  members  of 
the  community  should  sleep  at  the  Commissioner's  house. 
Thompson  and  I  then  came  to  the  Compound ;  and  quieted,  as 
best  we  could,  the  fears  of  the  people.  We  had  an  early  din- 
ner and  at  seven  o'clock,  armed  with  walking  sticks,  made  our 
way  to  the  fortifications. 

'There  were  six  of  us  all  together — Mr.  Bach,  Mr.  Jensen, 
Mr.  Fletcher,  Mr.  Blanchett,  Thompson  and  myself.  We  took 
turn  on  watch,  one  hour  and  a  half  each.    It  was  a  strange 


338      Twic^  Around  thk  World  With  Alexander 

feeling  as  one  passed  up  and  down,  listening  for  any  sound  of 
the  rebels. 

'Sunday,  June  2nd.  To-day  all  the  services  will  be  held  as 
usual.  I  do  hope  that  things  will  settle  down  quickly  and  that 
there  will  be  no  bloodshed  on  our  account.  We  expect 
another  British  gunboat,  and  men  are  bound  to  be  landed  in 
order  to  protect  life  and  property.  The  Germans  expect 
another  boat  also,  and  eight  hundred  Chinese  soldiers  are  on 
their  way.  I  expect  that  all  these  provisions  will  make  for 
peace,  and  will  prevent  any  serious  uprising.' " 


XXVII 

AT  HONG-KONG  AND  MANILA 

Mr.  AIvExander's  meeting  in  the  Theatre  at  Hong-Kong 
drew  a  great  throng;  and  was  a  striking  tribute  to  the  world- 
wide fame  of  his  work.  In  describing  the  experiences  of  him- 
self and  his  wife  at  Hong-Kong  and  Manila,  the  Gospel 
singer  continued: 

"The  days  before  we  left  Pakhoi  were  busy  ones,  filled 
with  small  meetings  of  all  kinds.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley 
wanted  me  to  meet  different  groups  of  native  workers  and 
classes.  A  most  interesting  occasion  was  the  assembling  of 
the  Mission  servants  and  hospital  helpers  and  evangelists; 
a  splendid  looking  lot  of  people  they  were,  too.  Of  course, 
we  had  these  small  gatherings  composed  entirely  of  men  one 
time  and  women  another.  I  could  talk  only  through  an  inter- 
preter, but  grew  to  like  it  when  I  saw  the  deep  interest  the 
people  took  in  all  that  we  said  to  them. 

"When  we  started  down  to  the  shore  to  board  our  boat,  on 
the  last  day,  the  natives  had  secured  four  thousand  fire- 
crackers and  wrapped  them  on  a  long  pole,  and  two  big,  stout 
fellows  took  each  an  end  and  started  in  front  of  us.  Just 
before  we  reached  the  water  they  set  off  the  fireworks.  This 
was  their  way  of  bidding  us  a  ceremonious  good-bye. 

"We  were  accompanied  to  Hong-Kong  by  our  mother,  Mrs. 
Cadbury,  her  youngest  daughter,  and  Archdeacon  Banister 
who  had  been  to  Pakhoi  to  open  the  new  church.    We  spent 


342      Twic^  Around  the:  Wori.d  With  Ai.exandi:r 

a  Sunday  on  board  during  the  trip.  The  only  place  where  pas- 
sengers could  meet  one  another  was  the  dining-room;  and 
we  found  the  captain  a  kindly,  cordial  man.  On  Sunday  night 
after  dinner  was  over,  we  were  sitting  around  the  table,  talk- 
ing for  some  time.  Of  course,  there  were  not  many  passen- 
gers on  that  small  boat,  and  nearly  all  were  in  the  saloon 
together,  when  my  wife  asked  the  captain  if  he  would  be 
willing  for  the  Archdeacon  to  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible 
and  have  evening  prayer,  as  most  of  them  were  accus- 
tomed to  it  when  they  were  in  their  homes.  He  said  he 
would  be  delighted  to  have  him  do  it ;  so  the  Archdeacon  read 
and  prayed.  Returning  to  Pakhoi  a  few  days  later  on  the 
same  boat,  our  mother  made  the  same  request  of  the  captain, 
and  herself  read  the  Scriptures. 

A  COSMOPOLITAN  AUDIENCE 
"While  we  had  been  in  Pakhoi,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary  in 
Hong-Kong  had  advertised  a  meeting  for  Europeans  in  the 
Theatre  Royal.  They  had  worked  industriously  and  had 
hymns  printed ;  and  much  prayer  was  going  up  for  a  blessing. 
I  had  been  told  that  it  was  difficult  in  Hong-Kong  to  get  a 
crowd  together  for  any  kind  of  a  meeting,  religious  or  secular. 
Those  who  were  experienced  in  such  things  said  that  we 
must  not  be  disappointed  if  there  were  only  a  few  people  out. 
The  usual  time  for  a  gathering  of  that  kind  in  Hong-Kong  is 
9  o'clock  in  the  evening.  This  was  the  time  advertised.  I 
went  down  thirty  minutes  before  that  time ;  and  officials  were 
on  the  outside  turning  people  away  by  the  hundreds  with  the 
statement  that  the  theatre  was  packed.  A  friend  conducted 
us  up  the  back  way  to  the  platform.    Before  we  entered  the 


At  Hong-Kong  and  Manila  343 

hall  we  heard  the  familiar  strains  of  the  'Glory  Song/  and 
'Tell  Mother  FU  Be  There.'  They  had  grown  tired  of  wait- 
ing; and  some  sailors  who  had  been  in  our  meetings  in  Eng- 
land had  started  these  songs.  I  have  never  faced  a  more 
eager  audience  than  that.  The  Chinese  Christians  at  Pakhoi 
had  promised  to  be  praying  during  the  service;  and  all 
through  the  evening  it  would  flash  through  my  mind  that  those 
native  Christians  were  praying  for  us;  and  I  realized  that  an 
unseen  Power  was  present. 

It  was  as  cosmopolitan  an  audience  as  I  had  ever  faced. 
Christian  people  who  were  familiar  with  the  city  said  that 
there  were  those  present  who  had  never  been  known  to  attend 
any  kind  of  religious  service.  Everybody  sang,  and  sang 
heartily.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  my  wife  and  I  went 
down  to  shake  hands  with  some  of  those  in  front.  The  first 
man  I  shook  hands  with  on  the  front  row  said,  *I  was  in  your 
meeting  in  Bradford,  England.'  The  second  said  he  was  in 
the  meeting  at  Plymouth;  and  the  next  had  been  in  the 
Mission  in  Australia.  A  lady  came  to  shake  hands,  saying 
that  she  was  from  Bandigo,  Australia,  and  knew  Mr.  Hark- 
ness,  my  pianist.  A  big,  broad-shouldered  fellow  grasped  me 
by  the  hand,  and  said  he  confessed  Christ  five  years  ago  in 
Wellington,  New  Zealand,  during  our  Mission  there.  I  asked 
him  if  he  was  still  serving  the  Lord,  and  he  said,  'Yes,'  and 
trying  to  win  other  men  to  Christ.  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
come  the  next  afternoon  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  tell  the  meet- 
ing of  Christian  workers  about  his  conversion  and  life  since. 
He  said  he  would  gladly  do  so;  and  his  testimony  made  a 
most  striking  impression  on  the  meeting.  Since  then  he  has 
spoken  a  great  deal  at  gatherings  of  young  nren. 


344      Twic^  Around  thk  World  With  Alexander 


MEETING  A  CONVERT 

"The  day  before  the  meeting  in  the  Theatre  I  went  to  visit 
a  new  hospital  that  had  just  been  built  on  the  Peak,  above 
Hong-Kong.  As  I  stepped  inside  the  front  door  I  noticed  a 
nice  red-headed  porter  standing  there,  who  saluted  me  politely, 
and  said,  'Grood  afternoon,  Mr.  Alexander/  I  said,  'Are  you 
an  Englishman?' 

*'He  said,  'Yes.' 

said,  'Where  are  you  from?' 

'*  'Liverpool/ 

"Were  you  ever  in  any  of  our  Missions  that  we  held  there?'' 
"  'No,  but  I  have  heard  about  them.' 
"How  do  you  know  me?" 

"With  a  smile  he  said,  'I  was  m  your  Philadelphia  meetings 
last  February.' 

"That  was  just  one  year  from  the  time  I  was  talking  with 
him.  I  asked  him  if  he  was  a  Christian.  'Yes,  sir,  I  was  con- 
verted in  your  meeting  on  February' ;  and  he  gave  me  the 
exact  date.  'I  sang  in  your  choir,  and  I  was  one  of  your 
personal  workers  after  my  conversion.' 

"Then  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  pulled  out  a  pocket 
Bible.  On  the  fly-leaf  were  the  references  and  directions 
which  Mr.  Jacoby,  who  was  at  the  head  of  our  personal 
workers  at  the  time,  had  given  to  them.  He  also  had  his 
hymn-book,  and  had  secured  the  autograph  of  Dr.  Torrey,  Mr. 
Harkness  and  myself.  While  we  were  speaking  to  the  people 
down  in  the  front  of  the  theatre  during  the  after-meeting  on 
the  Sunday  night,  he  had  been  at  work  in  the  gallery  and 
brought  a  wicked  young  fellow  almost  to  a  decision,  and 
wanted  me  to  have  a  few  words  with  him.    The  man  accepted 


THEATRE 


ROYAL. 


i.  cm  I  mmn 


THE  WELL'fCNOWN  SINGER  AM)  CHOIR  LEADER. 
WILL  SING  AND  SPEAK  AT  ABO\''E  PLA^JE 


, .  PA¥,  17™  FEBRUARY, 

AT  s  mm, 

A  Large  Choir, 

'tier  /ffn  Alexanders  direction,  will  siatr  . 

Famous  *'Gi.ory  Song" 

HYMNS  -THAT  MADE  SUCH  DEEP  !VAf.^L'A!Or/^' 
THE  ROYAI.  ALBERT  MALI.  London  ' 
and  throughout  Great  BritafiL 


THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  MR.  ALEXANDER'S  MEETING  AT  HONG  KONG 


At  Hong-Kong  and  Manila 


347 


Christ,  and  the  young  fellow  converted  in  Philadelphia  made 
a  beautiful  prayer  for  him.  I  was  glad  to  see  a  one  year  old 
missionary  in  Hong-Kong  as  the  result  of  our  Philadelphia 
Mission. 

"It  was  a  great  joy  to  see  the  look  of  victory  on  the  face 
of  the  faithful  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  who  said  they 
had  never  had  such  a  meeting  in  Hong-Kong.  God  truly 
answered  prayer  at  that  time.  n 

"My  wife  had  a  touching  letter  just  before  we  left  from  a 
nurse  in  one  of  the  hospitals  on  the  Peak  above  Hong-Kong, 
in  w^hich  she  related  how  she  had  a  friend  in  England  who 
had  wronged  her,  and  whom  she  felt  she  could  not  forgive. 
She  had  received  letters  from  her  but  would  not  even  read 
them.  She  said  that  she  had  been  to  the  theatre  meeting  on 
Sunday  night,  and  at  that  time  she  had  heard  me  speak  about 
how  impossible  it  was  for  the  Lord  to  forgive  us  when  we 
would  not  forgive  our  fellow-men.  She  had  heard  an  an- 
nouncement that  I  was  to  talk  to  missionaries  the  next  after- 
noon, and  came  to  that  meeting.  A  still  stronger  reference 
was  made  to  unforgiveness  that  afternoon ;  and,  although  she 
had  before  determined  to  cherish  the  unforgiveness  in  her 
heart,  she  felt  that  she  must  get  right  with  God,  and  get  the 
hatred  put  out  of  her  heart.  I  was  sorry  my  wife  had  not  time  to 
visit  her;  but  she  wrote,  and  we  left  the  case  in  the  hands  of 
a  godly  woman  to  look  after  her,  »nd  could  only  pray  that  her 
heart  would  be  made  right. 

"From  Hong-Kong  we  took  the  Japanese  steamer  Nikko 
Mam,  for  Australia.  As  we  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  we  both 
felt  that  God  had  been  with  us  through  all  the  happy  visit, 
and  would  be  glad  if  God  should  permit  us  to  come  again. 


348      Twice  Around  thi:  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 


BRIEF  STAY  IN  PHILIPPINES 

"On  our  way  down  to  Australia  we  touched  at  Manila,  in 
the  Philippine  Islands.  One  bright  Sunday  morning  we  sailed 
into  the  bay  and  anchored.  A  tender  came  out  from  shore, 
and  several  people  came  on  board  the  ship  to  meet  their 
friends.  I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  see  any  one  I  knew,  when 
a  big  hearty  fellow  came  up  and  grasped  me  my  the  hand  and 
said,  *Hello,  Alexander!'  And  I  turned  and  looked  into  the 
face  of  a  man,  who,  with  his  wife,  had  been  in  my  Bible  Class 
in  Waterloo,  Iowa,  a  dozen  years  ago.  He  and  his  wife  were 
now  missionaries  in  Manila,  and  they  insisted  on  my  coming 
to  their  church  that  night  to  take  a  song  service.  He  spread 
the  news ;  and  there  was  a  full  church  that  night.  The  pastor 
of  another  church  heard  that  I  was  in  the  city;  and,  while  I 
was  at  dinner,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  know  if  I  could  go  over 
and  sing  once  or  twice  at  his  church.  I  finished  the  song 
service  at  my  friend's  church;  and  went  to  the  other  church 
while  the  minister  was  preaching.  They  insisted,  however,  at 
the  first  church  that  I  should  go  back  before  the  service  ended, 
which  I  did.  I  had  only  a  few  moments  at  each  place,  but  at 
the  close,  at  my  friend's  church,  I  sang  'Tell  Mother  Til  Be 
There,'  and  had  the  joy  of  leading  an  American  soldier  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


xxvm 


AMID  FAMILIAR  SCENES  IN  AUSTRALIA 

It  was  during  his  stay  in  Australia  that  the  most  thrilling 
scenes  of  Mr.  Alexander's  second  tour  occurred.  The  throngs 
which  gathered  at  his  meetings  were  fully  as  great  as  those 
which  assembled  during  the  Torrey-Alexander  meetings  a  few 
years  previous.  The  multitude  at  the  Exhibition  Building, 
Melbourne,  was  the  greatest  which  ever  came  together  for  a 
religious  service  in  the  huge  structure.  In  describing  the 
events  of  the  return  visit  to  familiar  scenes,  Mr.  Alexander 
said : 

"The  marvelous  beauty  of  the  trip  from  Manila  through  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  down  by  the  long  north  coast  of  Aus- 
tralia was  beyond  description;  but  the  most  interesting  thing 
in  all  the  world  to  me  is  a  human  soul.  We  had  opportunities 
on  that  long  trip  of  conversations  with  busy  people  about 
eternal  things,  which  we  probably  could  only  have  had  in  such 
circumstances.  Our  daily  morning  prayer  was  that  God 
would  open  our  eyes  to  see  the  opportunities,  and  give  us 
wisdom  and  courage  to  take  them  when  they  came,  which  they 
did  in  many  unexpected  ways.  Several  people  were  on  the 
boat  who  had  been  in  our  Mission  in  different  places.  One 
gentleman  at  the  captain's  table,  where  we  sat,  said  he  had 
often  been  in  Royal  Albert  Hall,  and  had  enjoyed  the  ser- 
vices so  much  that  we  must  have  a  song  service  on  board. 
This  we  did  on  the  Sunday  evening.    We  began  it  by  my  wife 


350      Twice:  Around  th^  WorIvD  With  Ai.i:xandi:r 

and  myself's  singing  'The  Old  Time  Religion' ;  and  soon  the 
passengers  joined  in,  for  each  one  had  a  leaflet  with  the  songs 
in  it  which  we  had  used  on  the  other  boats.  The  simple 
melody  seemed  to  warm  the  hearts  of  all  in  the  room ;  and  we 
felt  like  one  big  family.  Then  one  song  after  another  was 
called  for;  and  I  told  incidents  now  and  then  about  the  songs. 
From  that  time  until  we  reached  Sydney,  I  heard  the  'Old 
Time  Religion,'  and  the  'Glory  Song'  hummed  and  sung  every 
day  from  the  stewards  on  up  to  the  first-class  passengers. 

RENEWING  ACQUAINTANCE 

"What  a  different  feeling  I  had  as  we  went  through  the 
Heads  at  Sydney  Harbor  this  time  compared  with  my  visit 
five  years  before.  At  that  time  I  did  not  know  a  soul  in  Aus- 
tralia. This  time  I  was  going  back  to  the  people  who  had 
overwhelmed  me  with  their  affection  during  my  first  visit 
with  Dr.  Torrey.  I  felt  sure  in  my  heart  that  one  person 
would  be  on  the  wharf  to  meet  me — a  man  I  had  not  written 
to  nor  received  a  letter  from  since  I  left  Australia.  And  sure 
enough  he  was  there.  He  was  a  godly  man,  who  had  taken  an 
active  part  in  our  previous  Missions,  and  who  had  in  some 
way  learned  of  our  coming. 

"We  spent  about  four  weeks,  visiting  Australia,  and  have 
brought  away  happy  memories.  From  Sydney  we  took  the 
train  500  miles  to  Melbourne.  There  we  met  the  members  of 
the  old  Mission  Committee ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  could 
hardly  believe  we  had  been  away  five  years.  We  began  to 
plan  the  best  way  in  which  to  meet  as  many  of  the  friends  as 
possible  in  the  different  towns.  We  arranged  for  two  big 
choir  practices  to  be  held  in  the  Melbourne  Town  Hall  and 


Amid  Famiuar  Scenes  IN  AusTRAUA  351 

a  final  Song  Service  in  the  Melbourne  Exhibition  Building; 
also  for  meetings  in  Ballarat,  Geelong,  Bendigo  and  Sydney. 

''As  we  entered  the  Melbourne  Town  Hall  for  our  first 
choir  practice  every  available  space  was  filled;  and  the  officers 
were  turning  people  away  by  the  hundreds.  With  what  a 
thrill  of  joy  the  memories  of  five  years  ago  rushed  over  us  as 
we  stepped  upon  the  familiar  platform.  After  a  few  words  of 
introduction  by  the  Hon.  James  Balfour,  I  expressed  my  pleas- 
ure at  meeting  them  again. 

"  'It  is  five  years/  I  reminded  them,  'since  I  first  looked  into 
your  faces,  and  since  then  I  have  traveled  far,  and  seen  a  great 
deal  But  some  of  the  best  things  I  ever  heard  came  from 
the  lips  of  some  people  I  met  to-night.  One  young  lady  told 
me,  just  before  this  meeting,  that  while  we  were  here  before 
seven  boys  in  her  little  country  church — one  of  them  her  own 
brother — were  converted,  and  have  since  given  themselves  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  I  cannot  help  referring  to 
one  song — a  song  that  you  all  know — a  song  that  everybody 
knows,  who  knows  anything  worth  knowing.  I  mean  the 
'Glory  Song.'  That  song  was  launched  from  this  platform. 
Don't  some  of  you  remember  it?  Well,  that  old  'Glory  Song' 
has  gone  on  rolling  round  the  world  ever  since.  I  was  sing- 
ing it  down  in  Manila  the  other  night;  and  a  lady,  who  had 
been  in  our  meetings  in  Philadelphia,  said  to  me,  'Don't  you 
ever  get  tired  of  the  "Glory  Song,"  Mr.  Alexander?'  'Tired?' 
I  said.  Why,  I  felt  like  saying,  'Did  you  ever  get  tired  of 
your  mother?'  Do  you  know,  I've  got  that  song  in  seventeen 
different  languages.  I  know  myself  that  there  are  seventeen 
million  copies  of  it  in  books,  papers  and  leaflets.  One  paper 
in  London  that  has  a  circulation  of  a  million  copies  printed  the 


352      Twic^  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Aivi:xandep% 

words  and  music  three  times.  Get  tired  of  it?  I  love  that 
song  so  much,  I  couldn't  let  it  go.  I  look  at  a  Gospel  song  as 
a  sermon — a  sermon  on  wheels,  and  when  you  teach  a  good 
Gospel  song  to  a  man,  it  is  like  starting  a  wagon  down  a  hill 
with  the  brakes  off/ 

AUDIENCE  OF  TEN  THOUSAND 
''At  the  second  choir  practice  in  the  Melbourne  Town  Hall, 
a  larger  crowd  came  than  had  tried  to  get  in  before.  At  the 
close  an  appeal  was  made  to  those  who  would  accept  Christ 
and  confess  him  that  night;  and  many  came  forward  and 
did  so.  But  the  greatest  meeting  of  all  was  in  the  Melbourne 
Exhibition  Building.  The  Song  Service  was  advertised  to  begin 
at  8  o'clock.  At  4  '.30  in  the  afternoon  the  first  three  people 
passed  through  the  gates,  and  at  7:30  all  the  people  that  the 
building  would  safely  hold  had  been  admitted  There  were  over 
ten  thousand  people  inside ;  and  many  others  tried  to  get  in.  The 
new  songs  were  taken  up  in  the  splendid  way  Australians  can 
sing.  The  Lord  was  with  us  from  the  first  to  the  last.  It  was 
400  feet  from  the  spot  where  I  stood  to  the  back  of  the  build- 
ing. When  I  asked  the  people  in  the  back  gallery  to  sing  a 
chorus,  it  sounded  as  if  they  were  on  a  distant  hill.  We  sang 
many  of  the  old  favorites.  Tell  Mother  Fll  Be  There,'  did 
not  lose  its  power.  Mr.  Harkness's  new  song,  'Shadows,'  was 
the  one  which  seemed  to  take  the  greatest  hold  upon  the  people. 
To  hear  thousands  of  people  in  that  great  building  singing 
Gospel  songs  so  heartily  was  an  inspiration ;  but  best  of  all  was 
the  time  when  the  invitation  was  given  to  them  to  accept 
Christ,  and  they  began  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  building, 
and  their  voices  in  unison,  as  they  confessed  Christ,  was  the 


Amid  FamiIvIar  Scenes  in  Austraua  353 


sweetest  music  of  all.  As  I  slipped  through  the  back  door 
at  the  close  of  the  meeting  and  got  into  a  carriage,  a  few 
people  at  the  back  followed  us.  At  the  signal  for  the  driver 
to  go  quickly,  a  big  black-bearded  man  ran  along  behind  our 
carriage  and  grasping  my  hand  said,  'God  bless  you !  If  it  had 
not  been  for  your  Mission  here  five  years  ago  I  would  probably 
have  been  drunk  to-night.  Good-bye.'  As  we  looked  back  we 
could  see  him  still  waving  good-bye  to  us. 

*']mt  before  this  meeting  I  went  down  and  held  a  choir  prac- 
tice in  Ballarat,  preparatory  to  a  big  Song  Service  in  the 
skating  rink.  During  the  practice  I  told  an  incident  about  the 
'Glory  Song' ;  how  during  our  Mission  in  Bolton,  England,  a 
little  girl,  thirteen  years  of  age,  had  attended  the  meetings, 
learning  the  songs,  and  among  others  the  'Glory  Song.'  The 
next  summer  after  we  had  been  there  I  received  a  letter  from 
a  lady,  telling  about  her  little  daughter,  and  how  one  after- 
noon when  they  were  at  the  seashore  she  was  playing  in  the 
house  and  was  singing  the  'Glory  Song.'  She  picked  up  her 
hat  and  called  out  'Good-bye,  mother,'  and  ran  off,  as  they 
thought,  to  play.  A  little  later  her  lifeless  body  was  found 
at  the  bottom  of  the  cliff.  They  thought  she  had  been  reach- 
ing for  flowers,  and  losing  her  balance  had  fallen  over.  Her 
mother  wrote  me  what  a  comfort  it  was  to  know  that  the  last 
words  on  her  little  girl's  lips  were  the  beautiful  words  of  the 
'Glory  Song.'  A  few  days  after  relating  this,  I  came  back 
to  Ballarat  for  the  Song  Service  in  the  rink.  As  I  stepped 
upon  the  platform,  I  had  a  letter  handed  me  which  I  read  to 
the  great  audience ;  and  it  is  seldom  that  you  see  an  audience 
touched  more  deeply  than  that  one  was.  It  was  from,  a 
Ballarat  mother  about  her  boy,  and  she  wrote : 


354      Twice  Around  the:  World  With  Ai^Exander 

A  MOTHER*S  TOUCHING  LETTER 
"  Xast  Thursday  I  was  in  your  meeting  at  the  Church,  and 
of  course  took  home  with  me  the  hymn-sheet.  On  Friday  my 
son  played  and  sang  the  pieces  for  me  just  while  he  could 
snatch  a  few  minutes  after  coming  from  his  college  in  the 
afternoon  and  his  return  there  in  the  evening.  After  break- 
fast on  Saturday  morning  he  went  to  the  organ  again  and  he 
played  and  sang  them,  and  I  joined  in  the  singing  while  busy 
with  my  household  duties.  I  went  down  to  the  dining-room  to 
him  for  a  few  minutes,  and  he  said,  ''Mother,  I  like  Tray 
Through'  best  of  all.  I  shall  be  able  to  play  and  sing  them  for 
father  on  Sunday.''  Then  he  kissed  me  and  said,  "I  will  go 
now,''  and  that  was  the  last  time  I  saw  his  darling  face  until 
less  than  three  hours  after  he  was  brought  home,  dead.  I 
thought  of  the  mother  you  told  us  of  at  Bolton,  whose  darling 
girl  went  out  singing  and  was  afterwards  dashed  to  pieces.' 

''The  last  afternoon  we  were  in  Ballarat  the  Mayor  and  his 
wife  gave  Mrs.  Alexander  a  reception.  She  had  never  been 
to  Australia  before,  and  they  wanted  to  make  her  feel  at  home ; 
and  the  ladies  of  the  city  gathered  in  a  large  number,  and  it 
proved  a  most  happy  time.  After  the  gathering  the  Mayor 
and  his  wife  took  us  down  to  visit  two  invalids  in  their  homes. 
I  had  called  upon  them  five  years  before.  One  was  a  young 
woman  who  has  had  for  years  to  gasp  for  each  breath  she 
took.  It  was  a  most  pitiable  sight,  but  she  was  one  of  the 
loveliest  characters  one  ever  meets.  I  shall  never  forget  a 
little  note  she  wrote  me  after  my  first  visit,  in  which  she  said 
that  she  was  so  grateful  that  the  Lord  had  sent  her  one  other 
person  to  pray  for,  and  instead  of  begging  me  to  pray  for  her 
she  was  thinking  of  other  people. 


Amid  Famii^iar  Scenes  in  Austrai^ia  355 

''We  held  a  Song  Service  in  the  Mechanics'  Hall,  Geelong. 
This  is  the  home  of  my  former  secretary,  Rupert  Lowe,  who 
joined  me  when  I  w^as  there  and  accompanied  me  for  the  next 
four  years.  He  is  now  in  business  in  this  town.  It  was  a 
delight  to  see  him  again,  and  hear  of  his  activity  in  Christian 
work.  The  hall  where  we  held  our  meeting  was  far  too  small 
for  the  crowds.  We  had  a  splendid  Song  Service.  My  wife 
and  I  were  the  guests  of  relatives  of  Mr.  Lowe.  We  went 
with  them  down  to  their  seaside  home,  "Colite,''  on  the  Bar- 
won  Heads,  where  we  spent  two  days.  At  one  time  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Howard  Taylor  were  guests  at  the  same  place  for  three 
months,  during  which  time  Mrs.  Taylor  wrote  that  remark- 
able book  Pastor  Hsi. 

HOME  OF  ROBERT  HARKNESS 

"From  Geelong  we  went  to  Bendigo,  the  home  of  my  pianist, 
Mr.  Robert  Harkness.  He  was  with  us;  and  we  had  looked 
forward  with  pleasant  anticipation  to  visiting  his  native  town 
once  more.  We  stayed  in  his  home ;  and  it  was  an  inspiration 
to  meet  his  good  old  father  and  mother.  The  whole  family 
came  in  one  night — grown  up  sons  and  daughters  and  grand- 
children— and  had  a  time  of  hymn-singing  with  Robert  at  the 
organ,  as  in  days  of  old.  I  could  easily  see  how  the  memories 
of  times  such  as  these  would  inspire  him  to  write  hymns. 

"Mr.  Harkness's  father  is  one  of  the  most  honored  and  re- 
spected men  in  Bendigo.  He  was  three  times  Mayor  of  the 
city;  and,  instead  of  giving  an  inaugural  ball  as  had  been  the 
custom,  he  gave  a  picnic  to  10,000  Sunday  School  children. 
Although  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  he  is  still  active  in  Chris- 
tian work.    He  is  a  local  preacher;  and  recently  delivered  a 


356      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

sermon  commemorating  his  fiftieth  year  of  residence  in 
Bendigo. 

*'Mr.  Harkness  arranged  for  us  to  see  one  of  the  gold 
mines  for  which  Bendigo  is  famous.  The  manager  was  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday-school  where  he  used  to  attend.  We 
went  down  the  mine  shaft  to  the  depth  of  600  feet ;  and  were 
piloted  about  with  our  candles  in  our  hands  to  different  sec- 
tions of  the  mine.  We  came  upon  two  miners  digging  away 
in  the  rock ;  and  I  went  over  and  shook  hands  with  each  of 
them.  One  man  said  he  was  a  Christian;  the  other  said  he 
was  not.  While  we  were  standing  there  looking  about,  Mr. 
Harkness  suggested  that  I  sing  the  'Glory  Song.'  My  wife 
and  I  sang  the  last  verse,  and  when  we  reached  the  chorus  I 
asked  them  all  to  join  in,  which  they  did.  About  the  middle 
of  the  chorus,  I  noticed  at  my  right  an  old  miner  coming  out 
of  an  opening  which  I  had  not  before  noticed,  with  his  candle 
high  above  his  head,  singing  lustily  a  high  part  in  the  chorus 
of  the  'Glory  Song.'  As  we  finished  he  was  in  front,  of  us, 
and  said,  'Will  you  not  sing  another  verse?  but  I  suppose  you 
are  too  busy.'  I  stepped  down  and  shook  hands  with  him,  and 
asked  if  he  was  a  Christian  man.  He  replied  that  he  was 
not,  but  added,  'You  almost  got  me  last  night.  I  was  shaking 
from  head  to  foot.'  He  was  referring  to  the  meeting  we  had 
in  the  church. 

KNELT  IN  A  GOLD  MINE 
"I  asked  him  if  he  would  give  his  heart  to  God  right  there 
and  then;  that  it  did  not  matter  whether  we  were  under  the 
earth  or  above  it,  or  whether  we  were  in  church  or  out  of  it; 
we  could  give  our  hearts  to  God  at  any  time  and  anywhere. 
He  said  he  would  be  at  the  meeting  to-morrow  night.    I  said, 


Amid  Famiuar  Sceni;s  in  Australia  357 


'That  is  not  the  question.  Will  you  accept  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  your  Saviour,  and  live  for  him  from  now  on?'  He 
hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  the  big  Cornishman  said,  'Yes,  I 
will/  I  turned  to  those  around,  and  asked  them  all  to  kneel 
in  prayer.  They  did  so,  pulling  off  their  work-stained  caps 
and  reverently  bowing  their  heads.  Mr.  Harkness  and  my 
wife  prayed  for  him ;  and  then  I  asked  him  if  he  would  accept 
the  Lord  and  confess  him  there,  and  come  to  the  church  the 
following  night  and  publicly  confess  him.  This  he  promised 
to  do.  We  arose;  and  it  was  like  heaven  down  there,  600 
feet  below  the  earth's  surface. 

"Mr.  Harkness  took  us  from  one  place  to  another,  where  he 
spent  his  boyhood  days.  I  asked  him  to  show  us  the  place  in 
the  street  where  he  was  converted  on  his  bicycle.  He  had  not 
forgotten  it;  and  showed  us  the  exact  spot  where  his  decision 
for  Christ  was  made.  Then  I  asked  him  to  show  me  the 
bicycle  he  was  riding  at  the  time.  We  went  and  hunted  in  the 
big  foundry  which  his  father  owns,  and  finally  discovered  the 
remains  of  it  up  in  a  loft.  The  wheels  had  been  taken  away, 
but  the  body  remained.  Then  he  showed  us  the  desk  where  he 
used  to  work  in  his  father's  office,  and  took  us  to  the  engine 
room  where  we  saw  the  steam  whistle  upon  which  he  used 
to  play  the  'Glory  Song.'  We  also  went  to  the  hotel  where  I 
had  stayed  in  Bendigo.  In  the  story  which  Mr.  Harkness 
often  relates  of  his  conversion,  he  always  tells  how  the  Spirit 
of  God  touched  his  heart  as  we  came  down  the  stairs  together 
from  my  room  in  the  hotel  in  Bendigo,  where  I  had  been 
urging  him  to  accept  Christ. 

"Everywhere  we  went  in  Australia  they  gave  Mr.  Hark- 
ness a  royal  welcome;  and  were  proud  that  one  of  their  own 


358      Twice:  Around  thk  Wori.d  With  Ai^i^xander 

number  had  become  famous  as  a  Gospel  song-writer. 
Nowhere  else  was  this  shown  more  than  in  his  home  town. 
In  our  meeting  in  the  theatre  the  first  night  at  Bendigo  I  told 
that  large  audience  that  they  should  be  proud  of  this  Bendigo 
boy  who  had  honored  their  town,  and,  more  than  that,  thou- 
sands of  people  never  knew  there  was  such  a  place  as  Bendigo 
on  the  map  until  he  got  out  of  it. 

CONVERSIONS  DUE  TO  THE  MISSIONS 

^'While  staying  here  a  gentleman  told  me  that  the  religious 
denomination  of  which  he  was  a  member  had  accepted 
twenty-five  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  their  church  during 
the  past  year.  It  was  their  custom  to  have  each  candidate  tell 
how  he  was  converted,  and  if  possible  what  led  to  his  conver- 
sion; and  nearly  every  one  of  the  twenty-five  candidates 
attributed  their  conversion  to  our  Mission  more  than  five 
years  ago  in  that  city.  As  we  were  coming  out  of  the  church- 
yard gate  after  the  last  meeting,  the  pastor  introduced  me  to  a 
gentleman  who  had  a  Bible  class  in  the  church.  The  teacher 
said  that  he  was  not  in  very  much  sympathy  with  our  work 
while  we  were  there  before,  but  that  he  wished  to  say  now  that 
from  his  experience  the  work  was  solid.  Out  of  a  Bible  Class 
of  forty  men,  more  than  twenty  of  them  were  converted  iti  our 
meetings,  and  they  were  all  standing  true,  and  several  were 
doing  splendid  work  as  lay  preachers. 

''During  our  stay  in  Australia  we  made  Melbourne  our 
headquarters,  returning  to  the  same  hotel  after  visiting  the 
diflFerent  provincial  cities.  Just  before  leaving  on  our  way  to 
Sydney,  we  heard  a  report  of  the  v/ork  that  had  been  in  that 
hotel  during  our  three  weeks'  stay.    The  maid  who  had  been 


Amid  Famiuar  Sce:nes  in  Austraua  359 

very  kind  to  my  wife  came  and  said  that  during  that  time 
six  people  in  the  hotel  had  been  converted.  The  last  after- 
noon we  spent  in  Melbourne  was  a  touching  one.  The  commit- 
tee had  arranged  a  tea  just  before  our  train  left,  to  which  they 
had  invited  the  most  prominent  Christian  people  and  their 
wives  to  meet  my  wife  and  myself.  At  this  time  they  gave 
us  a  most  pressing  invitation  to  return  to  Australia  and  con- 
duct a  long  series  of  Missions,  which  we  hope  sometime  to  do. 

MEETINGS  IN  SYDNEY 

"As  we  drew  into  the  station  at  Sydney  we  were  greeted  by 
a  great  hearty  fellow  by  the  name  of  Virgo.  All  the  Chris- 
tian circles  in  Australia  know  and  love  him.  He  and  I  sang 
duets  together  and  worked  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  former 
Melbourne  Mission.  He  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  Sydney,  one  of  the  strongest 
organizations  for  reaching  young  men  in  that  country.  Under 
their  auspices  he  had  arranged  two  meetings  for  us  in  Sydney. 
One  was  to  be  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Hall  on  Sunday  afternoon, 
and  was  exclusively  for  young  men.  It  was  impossible  to 
get  the  Town  Hall  for  the  afternoon,  but  he  had  secured  it 
for  the  evening  service.  The  audience  of  men  in  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  was  one  of  the  most  unique  I  have  ever  been  in.  They  had 
picked  their  crowd,  and  had  got  together  the  very  men  they 
wanted  to  reach.  From  the  first  moment  of  the  meeting  to  the 
close  we  felt  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  mighty 
power.  Although  the  hall  would  hold  only  800  men,  at  the 
close  of  the  meeting  twenty-four  big  strong  fellows  marched 
down  to  the  front  and  confessed  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for 
the  first  time.    At  the  beginning  of  the  service  we  had  the 


360      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Ai^exander 

'Glory  Song/  of  course ;  and  they  sang  it  so  heartily  that  I 
asked  them  to  name  the  place  where  they  had  first  heard  it. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world  were  called 
out— Newfoundland,  all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom,  India, 
Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  China,  the  United  States  of 
America,  including  Alaska.  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Virgo  in  which  he  says  the  work  has  been  continued  ever 
since  and  many  are  being  brought  to  Christ. 

''For  the  evening  service  in  the  Town  Hall,  every  inch  of 
room  that  the  officers  would  allow  to  be  occupied  was  packed. 
The  officers  in  charge  of  the  building  said  that  they  had  never 
allowed  such  a  crowd  to  pass  into  the  building  before;  and 
one  came  to  me  and  said  that  there  were  five  thousand  people 
in  the  street  unable  to  secure  admittance.  Some  of  the  friends 
held  open-air  services  and  preached  while  we  sang  inside  as 
we  had  done  in  Melbourne.  We  began  at  7 130,  and  left  off  at 
10 :30,  and  when  we  came  out  people  were  still  flocking  about 
the  entrance.  I  had  not  the  opportunity  of  holding  a  choir 
practice  before  this  Song  Service,  as  in  Melbourne;  so  at  the 
afternoon  men's  meeting  I  had  told  the  men  my  predicament, 
and  asked  all  who  would  be  in  my  choir  that  night  to  secure  a 
ticket  on  leaving  the  building,  for  they  knew  the  songs,  and  I 
wanted  them  to  sit  on  the  platform.  That  night  I  had  a  great 
platform  of  400  seats  filled  with  men  who  had  only  practiced  in 
the  afternoon.  It  was  one  of  the  most  unique  choirs  I  ever 
had,  but  they  sang  splendidly.  I  noticed  three  marines  from  a 
British  warship  in  the  harbor,  sitting  together  in  this  im- 
promptu choir.  I  saw  their  faces  shining  and  noticed  them 
singing  so  heartily,  that  I  stopped  everybody  and  asked  them 
to  sing  all  by  themselves  one  of  the  new  choruses  we  were 


Amid  Famiuar  Scenes  in  Austraua  361 

learning.  They  did  it  effectively,  thrilling  the  audience  with 
their  hearty  voices. 

AUSTRAUA'S  WARM  HEART 

"What  warm-hearted  people  the  Australians  are,  and  what 
wonderful  singers!  But  best  of  all  was  when  the  invitation 
was  given  to  those  who  would  definitely  accept  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  to  see  them  coming  from  all 
parts  of  the  house.  There  were  many  who  came  down  and 
publicly  confessed  the  Lord. 

''We  sailed  away  the  next  morning  out  of  the  beautiful 
harbor  of  Sydney,  looking  into  the  faces  of  hundreds  of  those 
warm-hearted  people  who  had  gathered  to  bid  us  good-bye,  and 
we  were  sorry  to  say  farewell. 

"One  of  the  incidents  we  love  to  recall  is  that  of  a  lady 
we  met  on  the  boat  coming  from  Hong-Kong.  She  was  a 
^  prominent  lady  in  social  circles ;  and  she  and  my  wife  became 
great  friends.  On  the  morning  we  left  Sydney,  she  came 
where  my  wife  was  packing  in  her  room  in  the  hotel,  to  bid 
her  good-bye.  My  wife,  being  alone  with  her,  had  a  solemn 
talk  about  her  soul.  She  was  melted  to  tears ;  and  they  knelt 
together  and  she  said  she  would  definitely  accept  the  Lord 
Jesus  and  work  for  him — a  happy  ending  to  a  ship-board 
acquaintance. 


XXIX 

JOURNEYING  HOMEWARD  ACROSS  AMERICA 

As  ]Mr.  Alexander  went  to  China  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal, 
and  returned  from  Australia  through  -America,  he  thus  girdled 
the  globe.  And  it  is  interesting  to  recall  that  the  second  trip 
was  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  first.    He  said : 

''We  sailed  for  \'ancouver,  Canada,  on  our  way  to  the 
United  States.  Our  first  stop  was  at  Suva,  in  the  Fiji  Islands. 
We  were  there  several  hours ;  and  saw  some  fine  specimens 
of  natives.  We  also  met  a  man  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  large 
part  of  the  work  which,  in  a  very  few  years,  has  transformed 
the  entire  island  from  cannibalism  to  Christianit}*. 

'*\\lien  1  cam.e  back  to  the  ship  that  afternoon  I  found  a 
letter  awaiting  me.  I  had  noticed  a  war-ship  in  the  harbor, 
and  found  that  the  letter  was  from  one  of  the  three  marines 
who  had  been  in  my  impromptu  choir  in  Sydney  and  sung  the 
chorus  at  my  request  on  the  night  before  we  left.  They  had 
evidently  sailed  away  the  next  morning.  He  spoke  of  the 
pleasure  he  had  had  in  singing  that  night ;  and  told  me  how 
among  the  hundreds  who  were  on  their  ship  only  ten  were  out- 
and-out  Christians,  and  that  tliey  had  hard  pulling  sometimes, 
but  God  gave  them  strength  to  be  true  to  him. 

''We  had  many  opporunities,  on  our  long  voyage,  of  personal 
conversation  with  our  fellow  passengers.  After  touching  at 
Fanning  Island  and  at  Honolulu,  we  at  last  reached  \'an- 
couver,  and  started  our  long  journey  across  the  continent  down 


MR.  ALEXANDER  RIDING  A  WATER-BUFFALO  AT  MANILA 


JOURNKYING  HOM£:WARD  ACROSS  AMERICA  365 

to  New  York.  We  stopped  over  Sunday  at  a  little  station  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  we  helped  the  pastor  with  the 
evening  service,  using  the  same  song  leaflet  as  before.  Here 
in  this  place  we  saw  the  little  room  in  a  log  building,  now  a 
telegraph  office,  where  Ralph  Connor  used  to  preach  to  the 
men  from  the  mines  and  the  mountains.  One  of  the  ladies  in 
the  hotel  used  to  play  the  organ  for  him  in  his  little  moun- 
tain church. 

THE  STOP  AT  CHICAGO 

''We  stopped  at  Chicago,  and  visited  two  places  of  world- 
wide repute,  that  stand  out  like  mountain  peaks  in  my  life.One 
was  the  Moody  Bible  Institute,  and  the  other  v/as  Pacific 
Garden  Mission.  My  wife  and  I  spoke  twice  in  the  Moody 
Institute,  and  once  in  the  Moody  Church;  and  attended  two 
meetings  at  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission.  At  the  Moody 
Bible  Institute  we  found  many  who  had  gone  there  from  our 
Missions  in  England  and  from  Australia  and  Canada,  among 
them  two  young  women  whom  my  wife  had  led  to  Christ  dur- 
ing our  London  Mission,  and  who  were  now  just  finishing 
their  course  preparatory  to  taking  up  their  life-work.  They 
spent  their  vacation  last  summer  in  Ottawa,  Canada,  during 
our  Mission  there.  One  afternoon  I  had  them  give  their 
testimony  during  the  song  service  in  the  church ;  and  tell  how 
they  had  been  led  to  Christ  and  what  they  were  doing  then, 
and  how  much  they  were  enjoying  their  training  at  the  Bible 
Institute.  A  bright- faced  young  woman  came  and  shook 
hands  with  my  wife  and  me  during  our  visit  to  the  Institute  at 
this  time,  and  said  she  had  come  there  from  Ottawa,  Canada. 
I  asked  her  how  she  had  been  led  there.  She  told  us  that  she 
was  in  that  Ottawa  Church  the  day  the  two  English  girls  told 


366      Twice  Around  the  World  With  Alexander 

their  story.  She  had  been  trying  to  decide  what  to  do  with 
her  Hfe;  and  their  testimonies  led  her  to  decide  to  come  to 
the  Institute.  I  asked  her  if  she  was  glad  she  came.  'De- 
lighted/ she  said. 

''On  the  platform  at  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  one  night 
there  were  three  men  who  are  now  well  known  in  evangelistic 
work  throughout  the  United  States,  but  who  had  formerly 
been  away  down  in  sin.  One  of  them,  Harry  Munroe,  has 
been  the  leader  of  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  for  nearly 
fifteen  years.  Another,  Melvin  E.  Trotter,  came  into  that 
same  Mission  ten  years  ago,  dirty,  drunken,  desperate.  Mr. 
Munroe  put  his  arm  around  him  and  led  him  to  Christ ;  and  he 
has  never  wanted  a  drink  since,  though  the  day  before  he 
would  have  taken  the  shoes  from  his  feet  to  sell  for  a  drink. 
He  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  largest  Rescue  Mission  in  Amer- 
ica, at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  The  third  was  William 
Jacoby,  who  used  to  be  Dr.  Torrey^s  assistant  in  the  Moody 
Church,  Chicago,  and  is  now  engaged  with  him  in  his  evangel- 
istic work.  Up  till  forty-three  years  of  age  he  was  a  desper- 
ate character.  Now  he  is  one  of  the  most  Christian-like  men 
I  know. 

THESE  THREE  GREAT  COMPANY 
''It  was  a  great  joy  to  take  these  three  men  down  to  the 
place  where  my  wife  and  I  were  staying,  to  spend  the  night 
with  us.  I  have  never  been  in  their  company  without  receiving 
a  great  uplift.  If  my  readers  had  corhe  into  our  room  that 
night,  and  had  seen  the  joy  upon  the  faces  of  these  men,  the 
kindliness  in  all  of  their  actions,  and  their  Christ-likeness,  they 
would  never  have  dreamed  that  these  three  had  been  rescued 
from  the  lowest  depths. 


Journeying  Homeward  Across  America  367 

It  was  while  we  were  in  New  York,  w^aiting  for  our  boat 
to  England,  that  we  heard  the  sad  news  of  the  accident  at 
sea  to  our  mother.  As  soon  as  we  heard  the  news  we  started 
back  through  Canada,  where  we  met  the  train,  bearing  our 
sister  and  cousins  and  the  remains  of  our  dear  mother.  Re- 
turning to  New  York,  we  sailed  for  England  on  the  Oceanic,, 
reaching  Birmingham  on  June  13th,  about  seven  months  after 
we  had  sailed  eastward  from  London,  suddenly  plunged  into 
sorrow  that  God  alone  could  comfort. 


XXX 

AT  NORTHFIELD  AND  ON  THE  BOWERY 

Aftkr  a  month  in  England  Mr.  Alexander  had  to  hurry 
back  to  America  to  take  part  in  the  Christian  Workers'  Con- 
ference at  Northfield,  Mass.,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  W.  R. 
Moody,  leaving  his  wife  to  share  in  the  sorrowful  work  of 
breaking  up  the  desolated  family  home.  After  a  two  years' 
absence  from  the  Convention  he  was  warmly  welcomed  back 
by  a  host  of  friends.  When  he  made  his  first  appearance  on 
the  platform  the  people  broke  through  the  Convention  rule  and 
heartily  applauded  him,  as  well  as  his  pianist,  Mr.  Harkness, 
who  accompanied  him.  Mr.  Alexander  also  had  the  assistance 
during  the  Conference  of  Melvin  E.  Trotter,  W.  S.  Jacoby, 
Charles  Butler  and  Mr.  J.  J.  Virgo,  of  Australia,  who  came 
to  the  Conference  at  the  Gospel  singers'  urgent  request. 

As  was  the  case  in  former  years,  Mr.  Alexander  had  charge 
of  an  hour  daily  during  which  he  gave  brief  pointed  talks, 
had  stirring  experiences  from  a  group  of  personal  workers, 
and  led  the  people  in  singing  new  and  old  revival  melodies. 
Throughout  the  Convention  this  hour  was  one  of  the  most 
popular.  A  great  crowd  was  always  in  attendance ;  and  their 
singing  was  worth  going  far  to  hear.  He  also  gathered  and 
trained  a  large  ''Sunbeam  Choir,"  which  added  greatly  to  the 
effectiveness  of  the  Praise  Service. 

But  from  first  to  last  Mr.  Alexander  kept  this  as  the  key- 
note of  his  daily  hour,  definitely  winning  people  to  Christ  one 


At  NORTHFIEI.D  AND  ON  THE  BowKRY  37^ 

by  9ne.  Day  by  day  by  means  of  advice,  by  touching  inci- 
dents and  by  testimonies  from  others,  he  drove  the  truth  home 
that  every  Christian  must  be  a  soul-winner  if  he  is  to  follow 
in  the  Master's  footsteps.  Near  the  close  of  the  Conference 
he  said: 

WEAK  SPOT  IN  HIS  MINISTRY 

"I  just  found  a  man  out  there,  a  nice  looking  man,  with  a 
strong  face  and  a  fine  education,  who  said  to  me :  'I  have  been 
pastor  of  a  church  for  fourteen  years,  where  I  have  eight 
hundred  members,  but  this  personal  work  is  what  I  have  not 
had.  I  am  weak  there/  The  other  night  a  young  preacher 
said  to  me :  *Last  Sunday  night  after  my  wife,  and  I  watched 
the  souls  being  led  to  Christ  here  by  personal  workers,  we  cried 
all  the  way  home.  We  settled  it  on  our  knees  that  we  were 
going  to  do  personal  work.  I  have  been  preaching  for  two 
years,  but  that  has  been  my  weak  spot.'  It  is  the  w^eakest  spot 
you  can  have.  You  need  not  sympathize  with  yourself  and 
gloss  it  over. 

**You  will  find  a  strength,  a  joy  and  a  peace  in  your  life 
that  you  never  knew  before,  if  you  will  do  personal  work. 
You  say  *I  am  65  years  old!'  That  does  not  make  any  dif- 
ference. One  of  the  best  workers  I  know  is  84  years  old. 
She  cannot  walk  very  well  neither,  and  has  to  be  helped  out  of 
the  door ;  but  she  never  loses  an  opportunity. 

"Have  you  ever  led  a  soul  to  Christ  in  your  life?  Do  you 
know  of  anybody  you  have  led  to  Christ?  What  if  you 
should  drop  dead  in  your  seat  right  where  you  are?  What  * 
could  you  say  to  God  ?  Would  you  begin  to  make  the  excuses 
you  have  been  making  to  yourself?  The  Lord  said:  ^Follow 
me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men!'    Are  you  fishing? 


372      Twicie  Around  the  World  With  Ai^kxander 

What  would  you  think  of  a  fisherman  who  had  fished  all  his 
life  and  caught  nothing?  You  would  think  he  ought  to  be 
in  the  asylum. 

"If  it  takes  a  long  time  to  get  the  one  you  want,  do  not  get 
discouraged.  Keep  after  him.  I  got  a  letter  from  my  wife 
yesterday.  She  told  me  about  finding  a  woman  that  she  and 
her  mother  had  been  after,  I  do  not  know  for  how  many 
years.  The  woman  would  get  drunk  and  everything  like  that, 
but  they  kept  after  her  that  much  harder.  Let  us  go  after 
them  and  get  them,  no  matter  how  long  it  takes.  How  long 
would  you  hunt  for  your  son  if  you  had  lost  him?  If  your 
little  child  were  lost  here  on  the  grounds,  how  long  would 
you  look  for  it,  mother?  (Voice  from  crowd :  'Until  she  found 
it!')  That  is  right;  of  course  you  would.  How  long  must 
you  keep  after  an  unsaved  soul?  Until  you  land  that  soul. 
That  is  what  I  hked  about  Sam  Hadley.  It  did  not  matter 
how  often  a  man  went  off  and  got  drunk,  nor  if  he  stole  every- 
thing that  he  could  get  his  hands  on,  when  that  man  came  back 
Sam  would  say :  'How  do  you  do  ?    Glad  to  see  you  back.' 

It  was  during  Mr.  Alexander's  hour  that  many  of  the  most 
melting  times  of  the  conference  occurred.  A  number  were 
led  openly  to  confess  Christ. 

MEETING  IN  THE  BOWERY 

It  was  while  in  New  York  and  waiting  for  a  steamer  to 
return  to  his  home  in  England  that  Mr.  Alexander  received 
an  urgent  invitation  from  Dr.  Louis  Klopsch,  proprietor  of 
The  Christian  Herald,  to  conduct  a  meeting  at  the  well- 
known  ''Bowery  Mission."  He  consented,  and  the  result  was 
a  night  of  glorious  victory. 


At  NORTHriELD  AND  ON  THE  BoWERV  373 

As  it  had  been  announced  that  Mr.  Alexander  would  be 
present  at  the  meeting,  a  motley  crowd  of  bums,  drunkards, 
and  men  homeless  and  almost  hopeless  gathered  at  any  early 
hour.  The  crowd  in  front  grew  so  rapidly  that  the  doors 
were  opened  before  the  usual  time  to  prevent  a  disturbance. 
The  meeting  was  for  men  only ;  and  they  poured  into  the  hall, 
packing  it  to  the  doors ;  while  some  sat  on  the  rear  stairs  and 
others  stood  throughout  the  service.  It  was  a  pitiable  and 
touching  sight  that  the  throng  presented.  Scores  were  un- 
kempt and  woe-begone  because  of  lack  of  work  for  weeks  and 
months.  Some  were  bloated  and  blear-eyed  through  dissipa- 
tion. Some  were  stupid  through  drink,  and  fell  asleep  soon 
after  the  meeting  began. 

Mr.  Alexander  was  piloted  down  into  the  Bowery  district 
by  Mr.  John  Callahan,  Superintendent  of  Hadley  Hall,  and 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Virgo  and  Mr.  Robert  Hark- 
ness,  of  Australia,  and  his  secretary,  H.  Bookmyer.  After  a 
few  opening  hymns,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Mission  placed 
the  meeting  in  Mr.  Alexander's  hands.  On  rising  to  speak 
one  of  the  first  things  the  Gospel  singer  told  the  men  was  that 
he  was  glad  to  be  with  them,  for  it  recalled  memories  of  many 
happy  nights  spent  in  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  in  Chicago. 
Mr.  Alexander  told  the  men  that  there  were  two  Australians 
on  the  platform,  and  he  was  going  to  ask  one  of  them  to  sing 
a  song  that  the  other  had  written  entitled,  '*He  Will  Hold 
Fast.''  He  said  that  the  singer,  Mr.  Virgo,  came  from  Aus- 
tralia recently,  and  on  the  way  over  he  sang  this  song  among 
the  third  class  passengers  and  many  were  helped  by  it.  He 
said  it  was  a  song  for  those  fellows  who  fear  they  can't  hold 
out.    Mr.  Virgo  sang  it  with  power;  and  Mr.  Alexander 


V 


374      TwicK  Around  the  Wori.d  With  Alexandkr 

drilled  the  men  on  it  again  and  again  until  they  made  the 
building  reverberate  with  the  melody.  Following  this  the 
Gospel  singer  started  up  *'The  Old  Time  Religion/'  and  after 
they  had  sung  a  verse  or  two  he  said: 

SANG  BECAUSE  THEY  HAD  TO 
"Down  in  a  meeting  in  Melbourne  there  was  a  friend  of 
mine  sitting  next  to  a  great  big  fellow  who  looked  sharply  at 
him  while  he  was  singing  this  song.  At  length  the  big  fellow 
said:  *What  are  you  singing  for?'  My  friend  said,  'Can't 
help  it.'  Pretty  soon  the  song  began  to  warm  things  up,  and 
the  big  man  began  to  warm  up,  too.  In  a  little  while  he  was 
singing  as  lustily  as  the  others.  My  friend  turned  round  to 
him  and  said:  What  are  you  singing  for?'  He  said:  'I 
cannot  help  it.'  That  is  the  kind  of  singing  I  like,  when  a 
man  'cannot  help  it.'  I  want  you  men  to  sing  to-night,  and  I 
want  you  to  mean  every  word  you  sing."  By  this  time  the 
meeting  was  enthusiastic ;  and  Mr.  Alexander  had  a  firm  grip 
on  his  hearers.  He  now  called  upon  the  men  to  sing  softly  and 
tenderly  that  cry  of  the  soul  for  peace  and  pardon :  ''Pass  Me 
Not,  O  Gentle  Saviour."  He  then  called  upon  Mr.  John 
Callahan  to  tell  how  he  was  saved.  Following  a  stirring  tes- 
timony, he  called  upon  the  men  to  join  heartily  in  singing 
another  old  favorite,  "The  Land  that  is  Fairer  Than  Day."  It 
brought  back  old  memories  to  many  in  the  audience.  In 
answer  to  prayer  God's  Spirit  was  moving  deeply  on  the  hearts 
of  the  men.  After  the  singing  of  several  verses,  Mr.  Alex- 
ander briefly  spoke  to  the  men,  in  clear  ringing  tones  which 
could  be  heard  in  the  farthest  part  of  the  hall.  He  said : 
"When  I  come  to  New  York  I  do  not  go  to  the  Cathedrals, 


At  NORTPlFlElvD  AND  ON  THE  BoWERY  375 

but  to  places  like  this  where  men  are  brought  from  death  into 
life  in  Christ.  I  like  to  go  before  a  great  audience  dressed  in 
silks  and  satins,  and  get  one  of  the  men  snatched  from  the 
devil's  territory  to  speak  to  them.  I  love  to  be  able  to  say 
to  them,  Xook  at  him,  and  you  dare  not  say  anything  against 
the  power  of  God  to  save  and  to  keep.' 

great  writer  once  said  to  me:  'What  if  Jesus  Christ 
did  not  rise  from  the  dead?'  I  said  to  him:  *The  whole 
thing  is  a  failure  if  Jesus  Christ  did  not  rise  from  the  dead. 
You  can  talk  from  now  until  to-morrow  morning,  but  when 
you  are  right  up  against  the  fact  of  a  fellow  who  has  been 
hounded  out  of  every  saloon  in  town,  whom  nobody  will  have 
anything  to  do  with,  what  have  you  for  him  He  said  some- 
thing with  four  syllable  words,  and  went  round  and  round 
the  subject.  I  said,  'You  are  not  getting  anywhere,  are  you?' 
He  said,  'Well,  what  would  you  do?'  I  said,  'Now  you  have 
come  to  a  man  who  knows.  If  you  want  to  go  with  me  to- 
morrow morning  I  will  show  you  dozens  of  men  that  have  lived 
good,  clean.  Christian  lives  for  a  year,  between  our  last  Mis- 
sion and  this,  whom  no  other  power  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
could  have  cleansed  from  sin.  Have  you  anything  like  that?' 
The  man  wilted.  He  bowed  his  head  and  said :  *I  hope  you 
will  get  hold  of  my  wdfe  and  boys  when  you  come  to  London.* 
Do  you  see?  Jesus  Christ  alone  can  save.  Nobody  has  a 
monopoly  of  salvation.  They  may  corner  earthly  goods,  but 
they  cannot  corner  Eternal  life.    The  way  to  God  is  open. 

INFLUENCE  OF  A  TRACT 
*'One  day  a  man  in  the  Pacific  Garden  Mission  in  Chicago 
pulled  out  a  little  tract  and  said:    'Do  you  see  that?    It  is 


376      Twice  Around  the  WoRLt)  With  Alexander 

called  ''Truth  in  a  Nutshell/'  A  man  came  up  in  the  lodging 
house  where  I  was  staying  the  other  night.  He  said :  ''Won't 
you  come  down  to  Pacific  Garden  Mission  to-night?''  I 
said,  "No."  "Well,"  he  said,  "Here  is  something  to  read." 
I  looked  and  saw  it  was  a  tract.  I  was  going  to  throw  it  at 
the  fellow,  but  he  passed  out.  I  began  to  read  it,  as  I  had 
nothing  else  to  do.  I  saw,  in  large  black  letters  at  the  top  of 
the  page:  "You  are  a  Sinner,"  with  a  line  under  the  you.  I 
said:  "I  know  that.  Give  me  something  new."  I  had  been 
a  drunkard  for  years.  I  had  not  been  in  a  church  in  about 
fifteen  years.  I  was  just  going  to  throw  the  tract  down  in  dis- 
gust, when  my  eye  caught  another  sentence  on  the  next  page, 
"God  Loves  You,"  with  a  big  black  line  under  "Loves."  I 
said,  "Hello,  is  that  so  ?"  For  fifteen  years  I  had  been  think- 
ing that  God  hated  me,  but  I  read  there  "God  Loves  You."  I 
turned  around  and  read  the  tract  through,  and  read  it  through 
again,  and  read  it  through  again;  and  when  I  got  up  from 
there  I  was  a  saved  man.  I  took  Jesus  as  my  Saviour  that 
night.  It  was  seven  o'clock  when  I  started  to  read,  and  it  was 
12  o'clock  when  I  got  through.'  What  God  did  for  that  man 
he  will  do  for  you,  if  3^ou  will  give  your  hearts  to  him. 

"In  a  few  moments  I  want  my  friend  Mr.  Virgo  to  sing  a 
song  to  you  that  has  been  used  greatly  all  around  the  world  in 
the  salvation  of  souls.  It  is  a  song  that  has  been  criticized, 
but  it  gets  men  saved  and  that  is  more  important.  I  carried  it 
around  many  months  in  my  scrap-book  before  I  decided  to  use 
it.    I  will  tell  you  how  it  was  written : 

"When  President  McKinley  was  in  office  in  Washington  his 
mother  lay  dying  in  Canton,  Ohio,  several  hundred  miles  away. 
She  sent  word  that  she  wanted  to  see  her  boy  once  more  before 


At  North  r^iELD  and  on  the:  Bowery  377 

she  died.  President  McKinley  chartered  a  special  train  and 
telegraphed  'Tell  Mother  Fll  Be  There/  A  Gospel  song- 
writer from  the  same  state  caught  up  the  idea  and  wrote  the 
song,  'Tell  Mother  I'll  Be  There/  which  has  been  the  means 
of  bringing  thousands  to  Christ. 

*-MY  OLD  MOTHER'S  RELIGION'* 

'In  connection  with  this  song  I  want  to  tell  you  an  incident 
that  happened  in  Chicago.  Two  country  boys  went  to  Chicago 
to  make  their  way  in  the  world.  One  boy  came  from  a  good 
Christian  home  where  they  loved  the  Bible  and  had  family 
prayers.  He  shared  a  room,  however,  with  his  infidel  friend. 
One  day  the  infidel  boy  said  the  other  was  a  coward  not  to 
listen  to  the  other  side  of  the  case.  He  said:  'We  are  going 
to  have  a  lecture  to-night,  come  along!'  The  boy  from  the 
good  Christian  home  went,  and  during  the  lecture  it  seemed 
as  if  Christianity  were  torn  to  shreds.  Men  and  women 
stood  on  the  seats  and  waved  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs  and 
made  such  a  noise  that  you  would  have  thought  Christianity 
was  being  wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  As  they  were 
coming  out  after  the  lecture  the  infidel  boy  put  his  hat  on  one 
side  of  his  head  and  said,  'Well,  he  knocked  down  everything 
in  front  of  him  to-night,  didn't  he  ?'  'Not  everything,'  replied 
the  Christian  boy,  'there  was  one  thing  he  did  not  touch.'  The 
infidel  boy  said,  'Well,  I  should  like  to  know  what  that  was  ?' 
The  Christian  boy  said,  'My  old  mother's  religion.'  No  matter 
how  far  down  in  sin  you  go,  you  cannot  quite  get  that  influence 
out  of  your  hearts.  Thank  God !  some  of  you  don't  want  to 
do  so.  Men,  make  a  full  surrender  to-night.  Give  Jesus 
Christ  your  heart.    Come  to  your  mother's  God." 


378      Twice  Around  the  WorIvD  With  Alexander 

Mr.  Alexander  then  called  upon  Mr.  Virgo  to  sing  "Tell 
Mother  Til  Be  There.''  As  the  famous  hymn  was  sung 
prayerfully  and  tenderly,  hearts  all  over  the  audience  began 
to  melt.  While  Mr.  Virgo  sang,  Mr.  Alexander  pleaded  with 
the  men  to  decide  the  great  question  at  once.  During  the  first 
verse  and  chorus  a  number  arose.  Then  as  the  song  con- 
tinued and  was  repeated,  Mr.  Alexander  urged  the  men  to 
have  the  courage  to  confess  Christ  publicly;  and  they  con- 
tinued to  rise  in  all  parts  of  the  house.  When  over  thirty  had 
risen,  the  Gospel  singer  told  the  men  that  if  they  were  in  dead 
earnest  about  the  matter,  he  wanted  them  to  take  a  step  further, 
to  come  out  boldly  and  go  into  the  room  at  the  rear  of  the 
platform.  The  men  responded  at  once;  and  a  total  of  forty- 
three  men  arose  from  their  seats  and  filed  back  into  the  room. 
It  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see  that  procession  of  sin-sick  men 
going  forward  publicly  to  confess  the  Saviour  who  would 
bring  them  life  more  abundant. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  coffee  and  sandwiches  were 
served  to  the  men,  and  at  length  the  night  of  victory  was 
concluded.  The  Superintendent  of  the  Mission  declared  it  was 
the  greatest  night  in  the  history  of  the  work. 

MR.  ALEXANDER  AT  MONT-LAWN 

While  Mr.  Alexander  was  in  New  York  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  spend  a  Sunday  at  Mont-Lawn,  The  Christian 
He:rai,d  Children's  Home  at  Nyack-on-Hudson,  N.  Y.  The 
other  distinguished  guest  was  Admiral  Sigsbee,  who  has  long 
taken  an  interest  in  Mont-Lawn,  and  who  is  well  known  to 
many  of  the  children  who  have  been  present  when  the  admiral 
was  among  the  speakers  on  patriotic  occasions  at  the  Home. 


At  Northj^ikld  and  on  the  Bowery  379 

Dr.  Klopsch  always  comes  to  the  Home  on  Sunday,  and  the 
children  always  eagerly  await  his  coming  and  the  distinguished 
visitors  that  he  often  brings  with  him.  This  afternoon  as  usual 
they  were  clustered  about  the  handsome  entrance  of  the  Home 
to  watch  for  the  Mont-Lawn's  guests.  At  noon  they  began  to 
arrive — Dr.  Klopsch  first,  bringing  Rev.  Dr.  Babbitt,  the 
''grand  old  man  of  Nyack.''  He  is  the  pastor  who  for  nearly 
half  a  century  has  had  charge  of  the  parish  and  the  church 
which  he  himself  organized.  Afterward  came  the  members  of 
Dr.  Klopsch's  household,  bringing  with  them  Admiral  Sigsbee, 
who,  having  taken  part  in  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  en- 
joyed himself  so  much  that  he  wanted  to  come  again.  Next 
came  Mr.  Charles  Alexander,  the  singing  evangelist.  With 
him  was  his  singing  companion,  Mr.  Harkness.  Then  came 
the  people,  walking  and  riding,  pouring  in  from  Nyack  and  the 
neighboring  towns  and  country.  They  came  in  such  numbers 
that  one  wondered  if  even  Mont-Lawn's  capacious  hospitality 
would  be  equal  to  the  occasion.    But  of  course  it  was. 

IN  MONT-LAWN  CHAPEL 

The  beautiful  chapel  was  fairly  even  before  the  children  got 
in.  With  the  organ  playing,  the  long  line  of  little  folks 
filed  into  the  house  of  worship  in  perfect  order.  It  was  won- 
derful to  see  how  well  they  conducted  themselves,  especially 
as  some  of  them  were  new  arrivals  of  only  two  days  before ! 

There  was  a  hymn,  a  little  talk  by  Dr.  Klopsch,  a  prayer  by 
Evangelist  Alexander,  and  then  the  good  pastor  Babbitt  rose 
to  address  the  children.  It  is  a  beautiful  thing  to  see  a  man 
who  has  lived  through  so  many  years  of  human  experience  with 
a  face  so  sweet,  and  clear,  and  fresh ;  with  a  figure  so  straight 


.580      Twice  Around  the  Wori.d  With  AivExander 

and  slender,  a  voice  so  gentle,  a  faith  so  undimmed.  It  made 
the  hearers  think  of  a  time  when  childhood  and  old  age  would 
not  be  far  apart,  but  only  names  for  those  who  were  pure  and 
hopeful,  reverent  and  at  peace  with  God. 

Dr.  Babbitt  spoke  to  the  children  about  character  building, 
about  good  boys  and  girls,  and  bad  girls  and  boys,  good  acts 
and  bad  acts,  good  men  and  bad  men,  and  how  inevitably  the 
goo  came  to  their  reward  and  the  others  to  their  punishment. 
He  pointed  out  that  the  children  before  him  were  at  the 
beginning  of  the  road  of  life,  and  how  important  it  was  for 
the  mto  choose  between  good  and  evil  and,  cleaving  to  the  one, 
destroy  the  power  of  the  other,  so  that  they  might  enjoy  happy 
and  useful  lives.  His  words  might  have  been  summed  up  in 
these  beautiful  lines,  ''Sow  an  act  and  reap  a  habit;  sow  a  habit, 
reap  a  character;  sow  a  character,  and  reap  a  destiny." 

After  he  had  finished  there  was  more  Gospel  singing. 
There  is  no  mistaking  the  spirit  in  which  that  singing  is  done ! 
If  every  good  and  healthy  thing  could  be  done  with  the  same 
enthusiasm,  how  this  old  world  would  ring ! 

Then  they  gave  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  flag. 

THE  STIGMA  OF  A  LIE 
Then,  forming  in  line  again,  the  children  marched  to  the 
sloping  lawn  in  front  of  the  main  cottage  and  sat  down  in 
platoons  upon  the  grass.  The  visitors  were  seated  nearer  to 
the  house  on  benches  brought  from  the  pavilion  by  many 
willing  hands.  Dr.  Klopsch  invited  Admiral  Sigsbee  to  speak. 
The  Admiral,  with  his  erect,  soldierly  bearing,  and  his  clean- 
cut  naval  appearance,  walked  up  to  the  cottage  steps  and  spoke 
for  a  few  minutes. 


At  Northfield  and  on  the  Bowery  381 

He  told  how  the  boys  at  Annapolis,  when  he  was  a  ''middy'' 
there,  always  despised  a  lian  A  boy  might  do  a  great  many 
undesirable  things,  but  they  were  not  laid  up  against  him ;  but 
once  let  him  be  caught  in  a  lie,  and  his  career  was  finished. 
Even  when  he  went  from  the  Academy  into  the  Navy,  the 
stigma  of  ''liar''  followed  him.  "The  worst  thing  about  a  lie,'' 
the  Admiral  said,  "is  that,  to  be  believed,  it  must  counterfeit 
truth;  in  other  words,  it  must  impose  upon  the  credulity,  the 
trustfulness,  the  regard  of  some  one.  Therefore  it  alwoys 
does  double  damage ;  it  injures  the  one  who  utters  to  it.  There 
are  times,"  the  Admiral  added,  "when  wisdom  bids  us  hold 
back  all  of  the  truth,  because  people  might  not  be  able  to  under- 
stand it;  but  there  never  was  a  time  when  it  was  right  or 
excusable  to  tell  a  lie/' 

AN  OUTDOOR  SERVICE 
The  Admiral's  talk  followed  by  hearty  cheers.  Then  Mr. 
Alexander,  making  a  platform  of  the  piazza  railing,  led  the 
singing,  intermingling  it  with  his  little  talks  and  evangelistic 
stories  to  the  great  delight  of  the  whole  audience.  Then  he 
broke  into  the  famous  "Glory  Song" : 

Oh,  that  will  be  glory  for  me :  glory  for  me,  glory  for  me ! 
When  by  his  grace  I  shall  look  on  his  face, 
That  will  be  glory,  be  glory  for  me. 

It  didn't  take  the  crowd  long  to  learn  that  chorus.  It  is  a 
favorite  one  with  Mr.  Alexander,  and  he  has  made  it  familiar 
around  the  world. 

He  next  sang  the  beautiful  Gospel  song,  "Tell  Mother  I'll 
Be  There,"  and  many  an  eye  was  wet  with  tears.  He  told 
how  in  rough  mining  camps,  where  the  men's  hearts  seemed 


382      T\\  ICE  Around  the  Wored  With  Alexander 


hardened  to  every  good  influence,  that  song,  with  its  appeal  to 
their  love  for  their  mothers,  would  bring  them  sobbing  to  con- 
fess their  desire  to  be  better  men. 

The  little  service  ended  with  the  whole  audience  singing 
''The  Old  Time  Religion."  This  greatly  pleased  the  visitors, 
for  many  of  them  had  not  heard  it  for  years. 

When  the  service  was  finished,  ^Ir.  Alexander  asked  every- 
one to  shake  hands  with  his  neighbor,  and  so  amid  smiles  and 
hanlshakings  and  little  conversations  and  much  good-will  the 
visitors  departed,  leaving  ^lont-Lawn  to  the  children  and  the 
sunset  and  the  fast-falling  twilight.  A  few  days  later  Mr. 
Alexander  was  on  the  broad  Atlantic  bound  for  his  home  in 
England. 


THE  END. 


